W. He, S. S. Fang, Shenghua Yang, Nana Kim, Zhipeng Lu, Camille Rubel, Jake Bailey, Milan Gembicky, Song Lin, Steven R. Wisniewski, Keary M. Engle
We report the convenient synthesis of Ni(DQ) 2 (DQ = duroquinone) from readily available Ni(II) and Ni(0) precursors, guided by DFT calculations. By virtue of its π-accepting homoleptic ligand environment, Ni(DQ) 2 undergoes facile ligand exchange with phosphine, bis-nitrogen, and diene ligands and thus represents a convenient Ni(0) source in synthetic organometallic chemistry. As a precatalyst, Ni(DQ) 2 is found be a competent air-stable precursor for emerging methodology where Ni(COD)(DQ) is ineffective (COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene).