Nickel‐Catalyzed Heck‐Type Alkenylation of Secondary and Tertiary α‐Carbonyl Alkyl Bromides

Ni made it! A novel Heck‐type reaction of secondary and tertiary α‐carbonyl alkyl bromides, most likely involving a radical process, was achieved through the use of a nickel catalyst. Various substituted styrenes and 1,1‐diaryl alkenes were utilized as substrates to easily construct α‐alkenyl carbonyl compounds with tertiary or quaternary carbon centers. A catalytic cycle involving Ni I /Ni II is proposed based on our experimental results. EWG=electron‐withdrawing group.