Nickel-catalyzed divergent formylation and carboxylation of aryl halides with isocyanides.

Herein, we describe a nickel-catalyzed divergent formylation and carboxylation reaction of aryl halides with isocyanides. A rich array of aromatic aldehydes and carboxylic acids can be, respectively, accessed in moderate to good yields. Some sensitive functional groups such as hydroxyl, iodine, cyano, and indolyl are fairly tolerant of nickel catalysis. In the carboxylation reactions, the combination of isocyanide and H 2 O is first employed as a promising carbonyl surrogate instead of gaseous CO and CO 2 .