Ester Formation via Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Coupling of Alkyl Halides with Chloroformates.

The synthesis of alkyl esters from readily available alkyl halides and chloroformates was achieved for the first time using a mild Ni-catalyzed reductive coupling protocol. Unactivated primary and secondary alkyl iodides as well as glycosyl, benzyl, and aminomethyl halides were successfully employed to yield products in moderate to excellent yields with high functional group tolerance.