Iridium Catalyzed Deoxygenation of Epoxides with Carbon Monoxide

This work describes the selective desoxygenation of epoxides to olefins using carbon monoxide as the reducing agent and an iridium pincer complex as the homogeneous catalyst. A lithium salt additive acts as co-catalyst in various steps of the catalytic cycle. The mechanism is elucidated including the isolation of intermediates.