Nickel-Catalyzed Negishi Cross-Coupling of Bromodifluoroacetamides.

A nickel-catalyzed Negishi coupling of bromodifluoroacetamides with arylzinc reagents has been developed. This reaction allows access to difluoromethylated aromatic compounds containing a variety of aryl groups and amide moieties. Furthermore, highly effective transformation of the functionalized difluoromethyl group (-CF2CONR(1)R(2)) was realized via microwave-assisted reduction under mild conditions. The notable features of this strategy are its generality and its use of a low-cost nickel catalyst and ligand; thus, this reaction provides a facile method for applications in drug discovery and development.