Nickel-catalyzed direct alkynylation of azoles with alkynyl bromides.

The direct C-H alkynylation of azoles with alkynyl bromides proceeds efficiently in the presence of a nickel-based catalyst system. The reaction enables the introduction of various alkynyl groups bearing aryl, alkenyl, alkyl, and silyl substituents to the azole cores. In some cases, addition of a catalytic amount of CuI is observed to accelerate the direct coupling dramatically.