Abstract: The direct benzylation of electrophilic alkenes with alkylbenzenes has been achieved by decatungstate photocatalysis in a high ionic strength medium (5: 1 acetonitrile/water mixed solvents, 0.5 M lithium perchlorate). The reaction has been extended to ring-substituted (Cl, F, CN) toluenes and further alkylbenzenes. Intramolecular selectivity (p-cymene, 4-methylanisole) and deuteration effects support the atom transfer ...
[Manley, David W.; McBurney, Roy T.; Miller, Phillip; Walton, John C.; Mills, Andrew; O'Rourke, Christopher Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2014 , vol. 79, # 3 p. 1386 - 1398]