Nickel/Titanocene-Catalyzed Electrophilic Acylation Coupling of Styrene Oxides

Org Lett. 2023 Sep 29;25(38):6959-6963. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c02402. Epub 2023 Sep 19.

Abstract

The cross-coupling of epoxides with acyl chlorides or anhydrides by a nickel/titanocene dual catalytic system is established. A variety of synthetically useful β-hydroxy ketones were obtained in good to high yields by using modified pyridine-oxazoline ligand. The reaction proceeds via the cooperation of titanocene-catalyzed ring-opening of epoxides and nickel-catalyzed acylation of the benzylic radical intermediate.