Nickel-Catalyzed Aromatic C-H Functionalization.

Catalytic C-H functionalization using transition metals has received significant interest from organic chemists because it provides a new strategy to construct carbon-carbon bonds and carbon-heteroatom bonds in highly functionalized, complex molecules without pre-functionalization. Recently, inexpensive catalysts based on transition metals such as copper, iron, cobalt, and nickel have seen more use in the laboratory. This review describes recent progress in nickel-catalyzed aromatic C-H functionalization reactions classified by reaction types and reaction partners. Furthermore, some reaction mechanisms are described and cutting-edge syntheses of natural products and pharmaceuticals using nickel-catalyzed aromatic C-H functionalization are presented.