A Serendipitous Discovery: Nickel Catalyst for the Cycloaddition of Diynes with Unactivated Nitriles

Abstract

In the nick of time! The catalytic combination of [Ni(cod)2] (cod=1,5-cyclooctadiene) and the ligand 4,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)-9,9-dimethylxanthene (Xantphos) was used to access pyridines (see scheme). The reaction proceeds under ambient conditions to provide excellent yields of the products. Comparison of this catalyst with the other state-of-the-art catalysts is also provided. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.