Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.140, No.42, 13575-13579, 2018
Ni-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Dimethyl Aryl Amines with Arylboronic Esters under Reductive Conditions
Herein, we reported a successful Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of dimethyl aryl amines to forge biaryl skeleton via Ni catalysis in the absence of directing groups and preactivation. This transformation proceeded with high efficiency in the presence of magnesium. Preliminary mechanism studies demonstrated dual roles of magnesium: (i) a reductant that reduced Ni(II) species to active Ni(I) catalyst; (ii) a unique promoter that facilitated the Ni(I)/Ni(III) catalytic cycle.