The NiCl2-Li-arene(cat.) combination: a versatile reducing mixture.
The NiCl2.2H2O-Li-arene(cat.) combination described in this tutorial review has shown to be a useful and versatile mixture able to reduce a broad range of functionalities bearing carbon-carbon multiple bonds, as well as carbon-heteroatom and heteroatom-heteroatom single and multiple bonds. The analogous deuterated combination, NiCl2.2D2O-Li-arene(cat.), allows the easy incorporation of deuterium in the reaction products. Alternatively, the anhydrous NiCl2-Li-arene (or polymer-supported arene)(cat.) system generates a highly reactive metallic nickel, which in the presence of molecular hydrogen at atmospheric pressure is able to catalyze the hydrogenation of almost the same type of functionalities mentioned above.
Departamento de Química Organica, Facultad de Ciencias and Instituto de Síntesis Orgánica (ISO), Universidad de Alicante, Apdo. 99, 03080 Alicante, Spain. yus@ua.es
Francisco
F
Alonso
Miguel
M
Yus