Cross coupling of non-activated alkyl halides with alkynyl Grignard reagents catalyzed by a well-defined Ni pincer complex

The nickel pincer complex 1 catalyzes the cross-coupling of the title compounds with remarkable substrate scope and functional group tolerance. A nickel/alkynyl species was isolated and shown to be catalytically competent. THF=tetrahydrofuran, O-TMEDA=bis[2-(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl)] ether.