Nickel-Catalyzed Oxidative Decarboxylative (Hetero)Arylation of Unactivated C–H Bonds: Ni and Ag Synergy

Oxidative decarboxylative arylation reactions are potentially attractive routes to generate biaryl structures from simple and readily available precursors; yet, they are underutilized, because of limitations in the carboxylic acid scope. Here, we report a nickel catalyst system that enables the selective decarboxylative arylation of unactivated C–H bonds with a broad scope of (hetero)­aromatic carboxylate coupling partners. Preliminary mechanistic insights suggest that the efficiency and selectivity of this protocol originate from cooperation between Ni and Ag.