Secondary-sphere preorganization enables nickel-catalyzed nitrile hydroboration.
Medina AfandiyevaXijue WuWilliam W BrennesselAbhishek A KadamC Rose KennedyPublished in: Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) (2023)
Herein, we describe nickel-catalyzed nitrile hydroboration with pinacolborane, wherein a tethered NHC-pyridonate ligand enables efficient catalysis (5 mol% [Ni], ≤6 h reaction time) at room temperature. Mechanistic studies, including isolation of the catalytically relevant intermediates, shed light on the cooperative role of the ligand in activating both reagents simultaneously.