Interception of Nickel Hydride Species and Its Application in Multicomponent Reactions.

The hydrogen borrowing strategy is an economical method for the α-functionalization of ketones. While this strategy is extremely advantageous, it does not lend itself to the synthesis of β,β-disubstituted ketones. This can be achieved, if the in situ generated metal hydride can be intercepted with a nucleophilic coupling partner. We present a multicomponent strategy for the coupling of alcohols, ketones, and boronic acids using only 1 mol % nickel catalyst and without the need for added ligands.