Practical carbon–carbon bond formation from olefins through nickel-catalyzed reductive olefin hydrocarbonation

New carbon-carbon bond formation reactions expand our horizon of retrosynthetic analysis for the synthesis of complex organic molecules. Although many methods are now available for the formation of C(sp(2))-C(sp(3)) and C(sp(3))-C(sp(3)) bonds via transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling of alkyl organometallic reagents, direct use of readily available olefins in a formal fashion of hydrocarbonation to make C(sp(2))-C(sp(3)) and C(sp(3))-C(sp(3)) bonds remains to be developed. Here we report the discovery of a general process for the intermolecular reductive coupling of unactivated olefins with alkyl or aryl electrophiles under the promotion of a simple nickel catalyst system. This new reaction presents a conceptually unique and practical strategy for the construction of C(sp(2))-C(sp(3)) and C(sp(3))-C(sp(3)) bonds without using any organometallic reagent. The reductive olefin hydrocarbonation also exhibits excellent compatibility with varieties of synthetically important functional groups and therefore, provides a straightforward approach for modification of complex organic molecules containing olefin groups.