Barton Decarboxylation

Abstract Barton decarboxylation is a radical decarboxylation of organic acids to generate alkanes via a two‐step process: the formation of thiohydroxamic acid esters of the corresponding organic acid and the addition of a radical initiator and the radical transfer reagents of a good H‐atom donor such as tri‐ n ‐butyltin hydride [HSnBu 3 ], t ‐butylmercaptan [ t ‐BuSH], phenylselenol [PhSeH], and tri(trimethylsilyl)silane [(Me 3 Si) 3 SiH]. This reaction is generally referred as the Barton decarboxylation, or by the less common name Barton's radical decarboxylation. The formation of thiohydroxamic acid esters has been modified using different sources. This reaction has been used for removing the carboxylic group on organic compounds.