Barton-McCombie deoxygenation mechanisms

In their seminal paper, Barton and McCombie describe a method to deoxygenate secondary alcohols through a radical chain mechanism. This process was presented as an alternative to the standard conditions of derivatization of an alcohol to a tosylate/mesylate followed by reduction. Such polar processes are problematic with hindered carbon centers and can lead to rearrangements and/or eliminations if carbocationic intermediates are involved. 

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