Sodium-iodide-promoted nickel-catalyzed C-N cross-coupling of aryl chlorides and N-nucleophiles under visible-light irradiation

Herein, we report visible-light-promoted single nickel catalysis to smoothly achieve various C-N couplings of aryl chlorides/bromides and diverse N-nucleophiles with sodium iodide as the activator. Single nickel catalysts play two compatible roles: halogen exchange and C-N coupling, which are critical to successfully obtaining desired coupling products. The catalytic process does not need an exogenous photocatalyst and provides a sustainable and efficient approach to achieve C-N coupling under mild conditions. Experimental studies in combination with UV-vis and NMR analyses showed that the halogen exchange of both Ni-II and Ni-III-halide complexes with an iodide anion was a significant process for yielding the coupling products.