Nickel catalyzed site selective C-H functionalization of α-aryl-thioamides

A catalytic site selective intramolecular C-S bond forming reaction is demonstrated for the first time. The C-H bond functionalization of α-aryl-thioacetanilides was efficiently catalyzed by 2 mol% NiBr 2 , resulting in valuable 2-aminobenzo[ b ]thiophenes in moderate to good yields. Furthermore, the selective sp 2 C-H bond functionalization over sp 3 is exemplified. A nickel catalyzed C-H bond functionalization reaction has been used for the first time to study an intramolecular site-selective C-S bond formation of arenes.