Amino Alcohols as Ligands for Nickel-Catalyzed Suzuki Reactions of Unactivated Alkyl Halides, Including Secondary Alkyl Chlorides, with Arylboronic Acids

Abstract

Suzuki cross-coupling reactions of an unprecedented array of unactivated primary and secondary alkyl halides (including challenging alkyl chlorides) can be accomplished through the use of nickel/amino alcohol-based catalysts. Both the nickel precatalyst and the amino alcohols (prolinol or trans-2-aminocyclohexanol) are commercially available and air-stable. In view of the remarkable diversity of amino alcohols that are readily accessible, this discovery may open the door to the rapid development of versatile catalysts for a wide range of cross-coupling processes.