Recent advances in nickel-catalyzed C-H bond functionalized reactions

Abstract

The direct C-H bond functionalization has been one of the most active research fields in organic chemistry not only due to the significance in basic studies of inert C-H bond chemistry but also due to the step economy feature in potential synthetic application. In the past decades, transition-metal-catalyzed direct and selective functionalization of C-H bonds has emerged as a straightforward and environmentally friendly synthetic tool, which is also a long-standing goal that continues to drive discovery in organic synthesis. The precious late transition metals have been proved to play key roles to facilitate highly efficient transformations through C-H functionalization. However, the relatively high price, low natural abundance and partly strong toxicity limited their application. Nickel, compared to precious transition metals, is showing great potential for C-H bond functionalizations because of its low cost, unique reactivity profiles and easy availability in the earth's crust. This tutorial review summarizes the recent advances in nickel-mediated direct C-H bond functionalizations and C-C bond forming reactions.