General and mild Ni(0)-catalyzed α-arylation of ketones using aryl chlorides

Abstract

A general methodology for the α-arylation of ketones using a nickel catalyst has been developed. The new well-defined [Ni(IPr*)(cin)Cl] (1 c) pre-catalyst showed great efficiency for this transformation, allowing the coupling of a wide range of ketones, including acetophenone derivatives, with various functionalised aryl chlorides. This cinnamyl-based Ni-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complex has demonstrated a different behaviour to previously reported NHC-Ni catalysts. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest a Ni(0)/Ni(II) catalytic cycle to be at play.

Keywords: N-heterocyclic carbenes; aryl chlorides; cross-coupling reactions; ketone arylation; nickel; synthetic methods.