Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Cross-Coupling of Aryl Iodides and Trifluoromethyl Oxirane

This study developed a novel nickel-catalyzed reductive cross-coupling reaction between aryl iodides and trifluoromethyl oxirane. This reaction enables the highly selective ring-opening of trifluoromethyl oxirane and the efficient synthesis of 1-trifluoromethyl-2-phenyl-ethanol derivatives. The reaction exhibits excellent functional group compatibility and can be used to modify a wide range of bioactive drug molecules. Notably, with this new method, novel synthetic routes for a drug molecule and an organic functional material have been established. At the same time, this study shows that the reaction mechanism should involve a direct oxidative addition process of the three-membered oxygen ring to the nickel complex. By exploring and capturing the reaction intermediates, we propose a reasonable reaction mechanism.