Quaternary Centers via Ni-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Tertiary Carboxylic Acids and Aryl Zinc Reagents

This work bridges a gap in the cross-coupling of aliphatic redox-active esters with aryl zinc reagents. Previously limited to primary, secondary and specialized tertiary centers, a new protocol has been devised to enable the coupling of general tertiary systems using Ni-catalysis. The scope of this operationally simple method is broad and can be used to simplify the synthesis of medicinally relevant motifs bearing quaternary centers.