Late-Stage C(sp2)-C(sp3) Diversification via Nickel Oxidative Addition Complexes.

Herein, we describe nickel oxidative addition complexes (Ni-OACs) of drug-like molecules as a platform to rapidly generate lead candidates with enhanced C(sp3) fraction. The potential of Ni-OACs to access new chemical space has been assessed not only in C(sp2)-C(sp3) couplings but also in additional bond formations without recourse to specialized ligands and with improved generality when compared to Ni-catalyzed reactions. The development of an automated diversification process further illustrates the robustness of Ni-OACs, thus offering a new gateway to expedite the design-make-test-analyze (DMTA) cycle in drug discovery.

Nickel-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of ketones using ethanol as a solvent and a hydrogen donor.

We report a nickel(0)-catalyzed direct transfer hydrogenation (TH) of a variety of alkyl-aryl, diaryl, and aliphatic ketones with ethanol. This protocol implies a reaction in which a primary alcohol serves as a hydrogen atom source and solvent in a one-pot reaction without any added base. The catalytic activity of the nickel complex [(dcype)Ni(COD)] (e) (dcype: 1,2-bis(dicyclohexyl-phosphine)ethane, COD: 1,5-cyclooctadiene), towards transfer hydrogenation (TH) of carbonyl compounds using ethanol as the hydrogen donor was assessed using a broad scope of ketones, giving excellent results (up to 99% yield) compared to other homogeneous phosphine-nickel catalysts. Control experiments and a mercury poisoning experiment support a homogeneous catalytic system; the yield of the secondary alcohols formed in the TH reaction was monitored by gas chromatography (GC) and NMR spectroscopy.

Tandem hydrogenation and condensation of fluorinated α,ß-unsaturated ketones with primary amines, catalyzed by nickel.

A simple homogeneous catalytic system based on nickel phosphine complexes has been developed for the transfer hydrogenation and condensation of α,ß-unsaturated ketones to yield saturated ones and saturated imines using primary amines as hydrogen donors. Thus, a wide range of fluorinated 1,5-diaryl-1,4-pentadiene-3-ones were allowed to react with substituted benzylamines in the presence of [(dippe)Ni(µ-H)]2 (dippe = 1,2-bis-(diisopropylphosphino)-ethane) using ethanol as a solvent at 180 °C to give the corresponding saturated carbonyl compounds; here hydrogenation of the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bond was preferred over the C[double bond, length as m-dash]O bond. Under the same reaction conditions but using an excess of benzylamine, a tandem process is then favoured, starting also with the reduction of the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bond followed by a nucleophilic addition of the primary amine to yield valuable saturated imines with good to excellent yields (62%-91%).

[1,2-Bis-(diisopropyl-phosphan-yl)ethane-κP,P']dichloridonickel(II).

In the crystal structure of title compound, [NiCl(2)(C(14)H(32)P(2))], the Ni(II) atom lies on a twofold rotation axis and shows a slightly distorted square-planar coordination geometry, with a dihedral angle of 10.01 (8)° between the cis-Cl-Ni-Cl and cis-P-Ni-P planes. There is no significant inter-molecular inter-action except very weak C-H⋯Cl inter-actions. The crystal studied was a racemic twin.