Nickel-Mediated Decarbonylation of Simple Unstrained Ketones through the Cleavage of Carbon-Carbon Bonds.

Despite advances in methods for the decarbonylation of aldehydes, the decarbonylation of ketones has been met with limited success because this process requires the activation of two inert carbon-carbon bonds. All of the decarbonylation reactions of simple unstrained ketones reported to date require the addition of a stoichiometric rhodium complex. We report herein the nickel/N-heterocyclic carbene-mediated decarbonylation of simple diaryl ketones. This reaction shows unique acceleration effects based on the presence of both electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups.