The field of organic chemistry has seen significant evolution in methodologies for the difunctionalization of unactivated alkenes, which involves the concurrent introduction of two different functional groups on the carbon-carbon double bond of alkenes lacking strong electronic or steric guidance. This strategy allows chemists to intricately design complex, multifunctional organic molecules efficiently—a task traditionally considered challenging. Recent advances, particularly in transition-metal and radical-based catalysis, have expanded the scope of this strategy, enabling efficient and selective incorporation of nucleophiles and electrophiles across unactivated alkenes. The superior ability of this approach to produce varied, functionalized compounds in a single synthetic step has considerable implications, including applications in creating complex pharmaceuticals, bioactive molecules, and specialty chemicals.

This Research Topic aims to address the pressing challenges by focusing on refining reaction selectivity, exploring innovative catalytic systems, and devising sustainable pathways that enhance the efficiency and adaptability of difunctionalization protocols. Furthermore, the goal includes testing hypotheses related to developing dual-catalysis strategies and the potential applications of these transformations in real-world industrial settings.

To gather further insights within the bounds of synthetic organic chemistry, we invite original articles, reviews, and perspectives covering, but not limited to, the following themes:

o Organocatalytic and photocatalytic advancements
o Radical-mediated strategies for alkene difunctionalization
o Development of novel catalytic systems for alkene difunctionalization
o Mechanistic insights into regio- and stereoselectivity in difunctionalization
o Application of difunctionalization strategies in pharmaceutical synthesis
o Economic and scalable difunctionalization methods for industrial applications
o Sustainable and green chemistry approaches in alkene difunctionalization
o Transition-metal-catalyzed difunctionalization techniques

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Unactivated Alkene Difunctionalization: A Versatile Tool for Synthetic Organic Chemistry