A nickel precatalyst for efficient cross-coupling reactions of aryl tosylates with arylboronic acids: vital role of dppf

An air-stable and easy-to-handle nickel precatalyst, (9-phenanthrenyl)Ni(II)(PPh₃)₂Cl, was examined for the cross-coupling reactions of aryl tosylates with arylboronic acids. Under the optimized reaction conditions, the catalytic system tolerates a wide range of activated, neutral and deactivated substrates. The selectivity of this cross-coupling reaction towards aryl tosylates and arylboronic acids has been investigated. It is proposed that ligand 1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (dppf) plays a key role in the coupling by enforcing a cis geometry in key intermediates and the active Ni(0) species.