Christopher M. Lavoie

Nickel‐Catalyzed Monoarylation of Ammonia

Structurally diverse (hetero)aryl chloride, bromide, and tosylate electrophiles were employed in the Ni-catalyzed monoarylation of ammonia, including chemoselective transformations. The employed JosiPhos/[Ni(cod)2] catalyst system enables the use of commercially available stock solutions of ammonia, or the use of ammonia gas in these reactions, thereby demonstrating the versatility and potential scalability of the reported protocol. Proof-of-principle experiments established that air-stable [(JosiPhos)NiCl2] precatalysts can be employed successfully in such transformations.

Challenging nickel-catalysed amine arylations enabled by tailored ancillary ligand design

Palladium-catalysed C(sp2)–N cross-coupling (that is, Buchwald–Hartwig amination) is employed widely in synthetic chemistry, including in the pharmaceutical industry, for the synthesis of (hetero)aniline derivatives. However, the cost and relative scarcity of palladium provides motivation for the development of alternative, more Earth-abundant catalysts for such transformations. Here we disclose an operationally simple and air-stable ligand/nickel(II) pre-catalyst that accommodates the broadest combination of C(sp2)–N coupling partners reported to date for any single nickel catalyst, without the need for a precious-metal co-catalyst. Key to the unprecedented performance of this pre-catalyst is the application of the new, sterically demanding yet electron-poor bisphosphine PAd-DalPhos. Featured are the first reports of nickel-catalysed room temperature reactions involving challenging primary alkylamine and ammonia reaction partners employing an unprecedented scope of electrophiles, including transformations involving sought-after (hetero)aryl mesylates for which no capable catalyst system is known.

Nickel-Catalyzed N-Arylation of Primary Amides and Lactams with Activated (Hetero)aryl Electrophiles

The first nickel-catalyzed N-arylation of amides with (hetero)aryl (pseudo)halides is reported, enabled by use of the air-stable pre-catalyst (PAd-DalPhos)Ni(o-tolyl)Cl (C1). A range of structurally diverse primary amides and lactams were cross-coupled successfully with activated (hetero)aryl chloride, bromide, triflate, tosylate, mesylate, and sulfamate electrophiles.