Nickel-Catalyzed Coupling of Arylzinc Halides with Thioesters.

The Pd-catalyzed Fukuyama reaction of thioesters with organozinc reagents is a mild, functional-group-tolerant method for acylation chemistry. Its Ni-catalyzed variant might be a sustainable alternative to expensive catalytic Pd sources. We investigated the reaction of S-ethyl thioesters with aryl zinc halides with hetero- and homotopic Ni precatalysts and several ligands. The results show that both homo- and heterotopic species may contribute to catalysis. The substrate scope using an operationally homogeneous defined Ni complex was established. Acyl radicals are postulated as short-lived intermediates.