Ni catalysts have recently emerged as appealing tools in organic synthesis, allowing access to new reactivity in cross-coupling and opening up new avenues in synthesis. Despite the growing use of Ni catalysts, mechanistic understanding of Ni-catalyzed reactions is inadequate, partly due to complex radical intermediates that complicate mechanistic studies. Our group explores the reactivity of Ni catalysts from a fundamental perspective, combining mechanistic approaches with method development. I will present two strategies to tame the reactivity of Ni catalysts. Redox-active ligands stabilize Ni(I) and Ni(III) intermediates and allow classic two-electron transformations to take place on a Ni(I)/Ni(III) platform. Moreover, we explored the mechanism of Ni-initiated radical formation from alkyl halides and employed the reactivity to reductively functionalize alkenes.

Strategies for promoting nickel-catalyzed alkene functionalization

256th National Meeting (2018)

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