Carboxylate Assisted Ni‐Catalyzed CH Bond Allylation of Benzamides

A one-step synthetic method was developed for allylation of benzamides using Ni(COD)2/RCO2 H and [Ni(μ-H2O)(OOCCMe3)2 (HOOCCMe3)2]2 (A') catalytic system. Efficient, well-defined, air and moisture-stable Ni-pivalate complex was isolated and employed in catalytic allylation. The influence of solvent on product selectivity was also investigated.