Synlett, Table of Contents Synlett 2005(6): 1042-1043 DOI: 10.1055/s-2005-864829 SPOTLIGHT © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York Nickel Acetyl Acetonate [Ni(acac)2] Ambuja Pande*Synthetic Chemistry Division, Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior (M.P.) 474002, Indiae-Mail: ambuja_pande@rediffmail.com; Recommend Article Abstract Full Text PDF Download All articles of this category Biographical Sketches Ambuja Pande was born in 1979. She received her B.Sc. Chemistry (Honours) degree in (2000) and M.Sc. Organic Chemistry degree (2002) from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, India. She joined the D.R.D.E. in 2002 as a JRF and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. under the guidance of Dr. R. C. Malhotra, Joint Director of DRDE. Her present research is focused on irritants, both synthesis and application aspects. Introduction IntroductionNickel acetyl acetonate is also known as bis(acetylacetonato) nickel(II ). It has been used as a catalyst for oligomerization, telomerization, hydrosilylation, reduction, cross-coupling, oxidation, conjugate addition, addition to multiple bonds and rearrangement reactions. It is a pale green solid (mp = 240 °C) that is soluble in ethers and aromatic and halogenated hydrocarbons. Preparation PreparationNi(acac)2 is commercially available. Alternatively, it can be prepared from potassium acetylacetonate and nickel(II ) chloride by stirring for 30 minutes at room temperature in absolute ethanol. [1] Abstracts Abstracts (A) Ni(acac)2-catalyzed couplings of enones, alkynes and main-group organometallic reagents generate acyclic structures in an efficient manner. Ikeda et al. produced conjugated enynes from acetylenic tin reagents. [2] [3] (B) Ni(acac)2 is used in InI-mediated direct allylation of carbonyl compounds with allylic alcohols. [4] The reaction proceeded smoothly with catalytic amounts of Ni(acac)2 and PPh3 to give the corresponding homoallylic alcohols in high yields. [5] (C) Intermolecular coupling of an electron-deficient olefin with a strained olefin using Ni(acac)2 and a modified chiral monodentate oxazoline provides good yields and enantioselectivity. [6] [7] (D) Ni(acac)2-catalyzed cross-coupling between two sp3 carbon centers allows the synthesis of polyfunctional products. [8] (E) Ni(acac)2 promotes the coupling of alkenes with aldehydes in the presence of triethylborane or diethylzinc as reducing agents. [9] Triethylborane-mediated couplings work mainly for aromatic and unsaturated aldehydes, whereas diethylzinc-promoted couplings work best for aliphatic aldehydes and ketones. The reactions proceed well in water or in alcoholic solvents. [10] (F) Ni(acac)2-assisted coupling of 1,7-diynes with silanes produces six-membered ring products with a Z-configured vinyl silane moiety. [11] (G) Takimoto and Mori developed the Ni(acac)2-assisted coupling of 1,3-dienes, CO2, and an organozinc reagent, allowing easy assembly of densely functionalized rings. [12] Terao et al. developed comparable multi-component coupling of two dienes, a silyl chloride, and a Grignard reagent. [13] The procedure has been extended to asymmetric variants. [14] References References 1 Canoira L. Rodriguez JG. J. Heterocycl. Chem. 1985, 22: 1511 2a Ikeda S. Sato Y. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1994, 116: 5975 2b Ikeda S. Kondo K. Sato Y. J. Org. Chem. 1996, 61: 8248 2c Ikeda S. Miyashita H. Taniguchi M. Kondo H. Okano M. Sato Y. Odashima K. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124: 12060 2d Ikeda S. Cui DM. Sato Y. J. Org. Chem. 1994, 59: 6877 2e Cui DM. Tsuzuki T. Miyake K. Ikeda S. Sato Y. Tetrahedron 1998, 54: 1063 3 Ikeda S. Kondo K. Sato Y. Chem. Lett. 1999, 1227 4 Hirashita T. Kambe S. Tsuji H. Omori H. Araki S. J. Org. Chem. 2004, 69: 5054 5 Loh TP. Song HY. Zhou Y. Org. Lett. 2002, 4: 2715 6 Cui DM. Yamamoto H. Ikeda S. Hatano K. Sato Y. J. Org. Chem. 1998, 63: 2782 7 Ikeda S. Cui DM. Sato Y. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121: 4712 8 Devasagayaraj A. Studemann T. Knochel P. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl. 1995, 34: 2723 9 Kimura M. Fujimatsu H. Ezoe A. Shibata K. Shimizu M. Matsumoto S. Tamaru Y. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 1999, 38: 397 10 Kimura M. Ezoe A. Tanaka S. Tamaru Y. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2001, 40: 3600 11a Suginome M. Matsuda T. Ito Y. Organometallics 1998, 17: 5233 11b Montgomery J. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43: 3890 12 Takimoto M. Mori M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124: 10008 13 Terao J. Matsuo S. Shibata K. Tamaru Y. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 1999, 38: 3386 14 Takimoto M. Nakamura Y. Kimura K. Mori M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126: 5956