A General, Simple Catalyst for Enantiospecific Cross Couplings of Benzylic Ammonium Triflates and Boronic Acids: No Phosphine Ligand Required.

Highly improved conditions for the enantiospecific cross coupling of benzylic ammonium triflates with boronic acids are reported. This method relies on the use of Ni(cod)2 without ancillary phosphine or N-heterocyclic carbene ligands as catalyst. These conditions enable the coupling of new classes of boronic acids and benzylic ammonium triflates. In particular, both heteroaromatic and vinyl boronic acids are well tolerated as coupling partners. In addition, these conditions enable the use of ammonium triflates with a variety of substituents at the benzylic stereocenter. Further, naphthyl-substitution is not required on the benzylic ammonium triflate; ammonium triflates with simple aromatic substituents also undergo this coupling. Good to high yields and levels of stereochemical fidelity are observed. This new catalyst system greatly expands the utility of enantiospecific cross couplings of these amine-derived substrates for the preparation of highly enantioenriched products.

Nickel-catalyzed cross couplings of benzylic ammonium salts and boronic acids: stereospecific formation of diarylethanes via C-N bond activation.

We have developed a nickel-catalyzed cross coupling of benzylic ammonium triflates with aryl boronic acids to afford diarylmethanes and diarylethanes. This reaction proceeds under mild reaction conditions and with exceptional functional group tolerance. Further, it transforms branched benzylic ammonium salts to diarylethanes with excellent chirality transfer, offering a new strategy for the synthesis of highly enantioenriched diarylethanes from readily available chiral benzylic amines.

Nickel(0)-catalyzed cyclization of N-benzoylaminals for isoindolinone synthesis.

A nickel(0) catalyst effectively mediates the cyclization of N-benzoyl aminals in the presence of a stoichiometric Lewis acid. This method enables preparation of a variety of isoindolinones with substitution on the benzoyl fragment and C-3 carbon. This reaction likely proceeds via an α-amidoalkylnickel(II) intermediate, which then may cyclize via either an electrophilic aromatic substitution or an insertion pathway.