Nickel-Catalyzed Carbonylative Synthesis of β-Ketonitriles from α-Bromonitriles and Arylboronic Acids

A new carbonylation reaction of α-bromonitriles with arylboronic acids has been explored for the synthesis of β-ketonitriles. Notably, the reaction is catalyzed by an inexpensive nickel catalyst and operates under mild reaction conditions without the direct use of gaseous CO. It demonstrates a general and complementary carbonylation route for the synthesis of valuable β-ketonitrile products, and a variety of products were obtained in moderate to high yields with good functional group tolerance. Moreover, the synthetic utility of this method is evidenced by a scale-up experiment and subsequent functionalization of the resulting β-ketonitriles.