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Abstract:
Nickel catalysis has become a growing and empowering area of research in recent years, providing new reactivity modes towards organic synthesis. In these endeavours, Ni(COD)2 (bis(1,5-cyclooctadiene)Ni(0)) vastly dominated this area, thus becoming the main source of Ni(0) for exploring new catalytic reactivity. However, all known Ni(0)–olefin precatalysts suffer from great instability and fast decomposition when exposed to air. With the aim of providing fast and facile technologies for practitioners, herein we report the synthesis, characterization and reactivity of an air stable binary Ni(0)–olefin complex, Ni(Fstb)3. This 16-electron complex features a unique arrangement of simple ligands that shield the nickel centre from oxygen. We demonstrate that Ni(Fstb)3 is an excellent precatalyst in a wide variety of important nickel-catalysed transformations and has unexpected catalytic properties compared with other Ni(0)–olefin complexes. As a general, practical and air-stable Ni(0) precursor, Ni(Fstb)3 represents a solution to a 60-year quest.
