Nickel-catalyzed carbodifunctionalization of N-vinylamides enables access to γ-amino acids.

A nickel-catalyzed tandem reaction of N-vinylamides with arylboronic acids and bromodifluoroacetate has been developed. The use of amide carbonyl as a chelating group efficiently furnishes a series of protected α,α-difluoro-γ-amino acid esters. The reaction can also extend to bromoacetate and 2-bromomalonate. The advantages of this protocol are high functional group tolerance and a broad substrate scope, including a variety of N-vinylamides. In particular, the use of removable amide carbonyl groups provides potential opportunities for applications in peptide chemistry and protein engineering.