Nickel-catalysed direct C2-arylation of N-heterocyclic carbenes.
Nga Kim T HoBeate NeumannHans-Georg StammlerVitor H Menezes da SilvaDaniel G WatanabeAtaualpa Albert Carmo BragaRajendra S GhadwalPublished in: Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003) (2017)
A highly efficient nickel catalysed method for the direct C2-arylation of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) is reported. This protocol enables a facile access to C2-arylated imidazolium salts (NHC-Ar)X (X = Cl, Br, I or OTf). Experimental and theoretical studies suggest the viability of a Ni(i)/Ni(ii) catalytic pathway in which the dinuclear Ni(i) species [(NHC)NiX]2 plays a key role.