A copper-catalyzed carbonylative four-component reaction of ethene and aliphatic olefins.

To have a balance between reactivity and selectivity has been a long-standing challenge in multicomponent reactions. In this communication, a carbonylative four-component reaction has been developed. With copper as the catalyst, using ethene including other aliphatic alkenes, alcohols and acetonitrile as the substrates under CO pressure, various desired products were produced in moderate to good yields. The obtained products can be applied in the synthesis of δ-valerolactams. Good functional group tolerance and reaction efficiency can be observed here.