Nickel-catalyzed arylative substitution of homoallylic alcohols

Direct coupling of unactivated alcohols remains a challenge in synthetic chemistry. Current approaches to cross-coupling of alcohol-derived electrophiles often involve activated alcohols such as tosylates or carbonates. We report the direct arylative substitution of homoallylic alcohols catalyzed by a nickel-bisphosphine complex as a facile method to generate allylic arenes. These reactions proceed via formation of an allylic alcohol intermediate. Subsequent allylic substitution with arylboroxine nucleophiles enables the formation of a variety of allylic arenes. The presence of p -methoxyphenylboronic acid is crucial to activate the allylic alcohol to achieve high product yields. Arylative substitutions of homoallylic alcohols with arylboron nucleophiles demonstrate the utility of unactivated alcohols as coupling partners in transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling chemistry.