Nickel-Catalyzed Decarbonylative Amination of Carboxylic Acid Esters

The reaction of carboxylic acid derivatives with amines to form amide bonds has been the most widely used transformation in organic synthesis over the past century. Its utility is driven by the broad availability of the starting materials as well as the kinetic and thermodynamic driving force for amide bond formation. As such, the invention of new reactions between carboxylic acid derivatives and amines that strategically deviate from amide bond formation remains both a challenge and an opportunity for synthetic chemists. This report describes the development of a nickel-catalyzed decarbonylative reaction that couples (hetero)aromatic esters with a broad scope of amines to form (hetero)aryl amine products. The successful realization of this transformation was predicated on strategic design of the cross-coupling partners (phenol esters and silyl amines) to preclude conventional reactivity that forms inert amide byproducts.