Magnesium-promoted nickel-catalysed chlorination of aryl halides and triflates under mild conditions

Abstract

In this study, we present a ligand-free nickel^(II)-catalyzed halogen exchange of aromatic halides with magnesium chloride. This method effectively facilitates the retro-Finkelstein reaction for a wide range of aryl bromides, iodides and triflates, demonstrating excellent functional group tolerance. Mechanistic studies reveal that magnesium plays a crucial role in the challenging reductive elimination from Ni^(II) intermediates.