Benzylnickel intermediates

The homo-coupling of benzylic halides appears to proceed via benzylnickel intermediates similar to that of aryl halides. The intermediate, benzylnickel halide, was successfully trapped with electron deficient olefins. 

The present Grignard-type addition may be reasonably explained by smooth oxidative addition of benzyl halides to nickel in the metallic state to give benzylnickel halide intermediates, and the insertion of 1,2-diketone into the carbon-nickel bond would afford the corresponding hydroxy ketones after hydrolysis. 

The reaction of benzyl chloride with metallic nickel in the presence of methyl acrylate was carried out at 85°C, and the expected addition product methyl 4-phenylbutanoate was formed in 17% yield (Equation 7.12). The reaction with acrylonitrile gave 4-phenylbutanenitrile in 14% yield together with cis- and tra 5-4-phenyl-2-butenenitriles, 4-cyano-6-phenylhexanenitrile, and 2-ben-zyl-4-phenylbutanenitrile (Equation 7.13). The results suggest the presence of a benzylnickel(II) chloride complex (1), which could have been formed by the oxidative addition of benzyl chloride to the metallic nickel (Scheme 7.7). The complex (I) would then be expected to add to the electron-deficient olefins, affording the addition product (111) via intermediate complex (IV). The formation of cis- and tra s-4-phenyl-2-butenenitrile (V) is reasonably explained by the reductive elimination of nickel hydride from intermediate (IV), which is analogous to the substitution reaction of olefins with alkylpalladium compound [158] and to the addition-elimination reaction of bis(triphenylphosphine) phenylnickel(II) bromide with methyl acrylate to yield methyl cinnamate [130]. Furthermore, intermediate (IV) seems to add another molecule of acrylonitrile to give the 1 2 adduct 4-cyano-6-phenylhexanenitrile (VI). 2-Benzyl-4-phenylbutanenitrile (VIII) would be formed by the metathesis of complex IV and the benzylnickel chloride (I). 

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