Mechanical metal activation for Ni-catalyzed, Mn-mediated cross-electrophile coupling between aryl and alkyl bromides

Liquid-assisted grinding has been successfully applied to eliminate the requirements of chemical activators and anhydrous solvents in nickel-catalyzed, manganese-mediated cross-electrophile coupling between aryl and alkyl bromides. In addition to the traditional reaction parameters, mechanical ones, e.g. the rotational speed of mill, the filling degree of jar and ball size, have been found to affect the catalytic efficiency remarkably, implying the involvement of the regeneration of nickel(0) species in the rate-determining steps. A combined evaluation of the reaction and mechanical parameters led to an optimal condition under which a variety of n-alky aromatics with various functional groups could be readily obtained in good yields with a 1 mol% catalyst loading. The practical application of liquid-assisted grinding-enabled aryl/alkyl cross-electrophile coupling has been demonstrated in the gram-scale synthesis of 6-methoxytetralone.