"Naked Nickel"-Catalyzed Heteroaryl-Heteroaryl Suzuki-Miyaura Coupling

In this article, we report that the air-stable "naked nickel", [Ni(4-CF3stb)3], is a competent catalyst in the catalytic Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction (SMC) between heteroaryl bromides and heteroaromatic boron-based nucleophiles. The catalytic system is characterized by its ability to avoid decomposition or deactivation in the presence of multiple Lewis basic sites. The protocol permits the formation of C-C bonds between two heteroaryl moieties in the absence of complex exogenous ligands, thus minimizing screening procedures and simplifying reaction setups. This method accommodates combinations of distinct 6-membered heteroaryl bromides and 5- and 6-membered heterocyclic B-based nucleophiles.