Nickel-Catalyzed Decarbonylative Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling of Amides To Generate Biaryls

Shi et al. have reported a nickel-catalyzed decarbonylative Suzuki–Miyaura reaction which uses an N-aroylpiperidine-2,6-dione as the coupling partner for the boronic acid ( Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 6959−6963).

The method is attractive from the point of view of the stability of N-aroylpyrrolidine-2,5-diones toward storage and manipulation and the flexibility they add to the chemist’s toolbox, given their preparation from a different group of precursors to aryl halides or triflates.

Notably, the reaction uses an air-stable and inexpensive nickel catalyst, and the reactions tolerate the presence of water. While a standard reaction temperature of 150 °C is quoted, the use of temperatures as low as 80 °C also seem to be possible. Coupling efficiency is reported to be adversely affected when the aromatic rings of both of the coupling partners bear electron-donating substituents.

Ortho substituents on the aromatic rings seem to be beneficial as they facilitate decarbonylation as part of the cross-coupling. Oxidative addition into the N–C(aroyl) bond of the amide is proposed as initiating the catalytic cycle and is possible on account of a reduction in the resonance stabilization of the N-aroyl functionality versus a conventional aromatic amide.