Wittig- and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons Olefination in Aqueous Media with and without Phase Transfer Catalysis

Wittig- and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) olefination remains a series of powerful reactions in the tool kit of organic synthesis. In the following article, an overview of the scope of Wittig and HWE olefination reactions in water or in multiphasic media under phase transfer conditions is presented. Special emphasis is given to one-pot, multi-component transformations. In the following article, the work on Wittig- and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reactions in aqueous media and under LL-PTC conditions is reviewed. Keywords: Wittig reaction, Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction, water, green chemistry, one-pot reaction, phase transfer.