# Radical docking–migration: a powerful strategy for difunctionalization of alkenes and alkynes

## TL;DR

This review explores a new chemical strategy for efficiently building complex molecules from simple starting materials using radical reactions.

## Contribution

The paper introduces novel bifunctional reagents that enable efficient radical-based difunctionalization of alkenes and alkynes.

## Key findings

- Radical docking–migration enables the simultaneous addition of two functional groups to alkenes and alkynes.
- The strategy works with diverse migrating groups like aryl, heteroaryl, and alkenyl units.
- The method extends to unactivated alkenes and alkynes, broadening synthetic applicability.

## Abstract

Radical-mediated difunctionalization of alkenes and alkynes represents a powerful and efficient strategy for constructing complex molecular architecture from simple unsaturated precursors. The docking–migration approach, which involves the initial addition of a radical species to an alkene or alkyne followed by intramolecular migration of a functional group, has emerged as a versatile and broadly applicable tactic. This review summarizes the achievements in this rapidly developing area, with a focus on the design of bifunctional reagents that enable the simultaneous incorporation of two functional groups via radical addition and migration cascades. The scope encompasses various migrating groups, including aryl, heteroaryl, alkynyl, oximino, alkenyl, and imino units, and highlights extensions to challenging unactivated alkenes and alkynes. The mechanistic insights, substrate scope, and synthetic applications of these transformations are discussed, underscoring the potential of the radical docking–migration strategy in modern synthetic chemistry.

This review highlights recent advances in radical-mediated alkene and alkyne difunctionalization, leveraging a docking–migration strategy with novel bifunctional reagents.