Nickel(II)
complex 1 was utilized as a sustainable
catalyst for α-alkylation of arylacetonitriles with challenging
secondary alcohols. Arylacetonitriles with a wide range of functional
groups were tolerated, and various cyclic and acyclic secondary alcohols
were utilized to yield a large number of α-alkylated products.
The plausible mechanism involves the base-promoted activation of precatalyst 1 to an active catalyst 2 (dehydrochlorinated
product) which activates the O–H and C–H bonds of the
secondary alcohol in a dehydrogenative pathway.