Recent Progress on the Zweifel Olefination: An Update

Over the past several decades, the Zweifel olefination has emerged as one of the most powerful and reliable tools for constructing C-C double bonds. This reaction features high efficiency, good versatili-ty, avoids the use of transition metals, and typically affords perfect ste-reospecificity, making it superior to many other olefination methods. Since Aggarwal's summary of the 50-year history of the Zweifel olefina-tion in 2017, remarkable achievements have been made in terms of employing new organometallic species, performing reactions through electrochemical or photochemical pathways, and developing methods that furnish new types of products. This short review summarizes and discusses the very recent progress made on the Zweifel olefination and its latest applications in the synthesis of natural products.IntroductionZweifel Olefination with New Organometallic SpeciesZweifel Olefination with New Migrating GroupsElectrochemical and Photocatalyzed Zweifel Olefinations New Elimination and Migration Patterns Involving the Zweifel OlefinationZweifel Olefination in Natural Product SynthesisOther Reactions Involving the Zweifel Olefination MechanismConclusions and Outlook