Migratory Reductive Acylation between Alkyl Halides or Alkenes and Alkyl Carboxylic Acids by Nickel Catalysis

Abstract

A mild migratory reductive acyl cross-coupling has been achieved through NiH-catalyzed chainwalking and subsequent cross-coupling from two abundant starting materials, alkyl bromides, and carboxylic acids. This strategy allows the direct acylation of the benzylic sp3 C–H bond with high yield as a single regioisomer. As an alternative, the alkyl bromide could be replaced by the proposed olefin intermediate and commercially available n-PrBr to achieve a remote hydroacylation process.