Chemoselective Union of Olefins, Organohalides and Redox-Active Esters Enables Regioselective Alkene Dialkylation

Multicomponent catalytic processes that can generate multiple C(sp³)-C(sp³) bonds in a single step under mild conditions,particularly if the catalysts and substrates are inexpensive, are highly sought-after in chemistry research for complex molecule synthesis. Here, we disclose an efficient Ni-catalysed reductive protocol that chemoselectively merges alkenyl amides with two different

aliphatic electrophiles. Starting materials are readily accessible from stable and abundant feedstock and products are furnished in up to >98:2 regioisomeric ratios. The present strategy eliminates the use of sensitive organometallic reagents, tolerates a wide array of complex functionalities and enables regiodivergent addition of two primary alkyl groups bearing similar electronic and steric attributes across aliphatic C=C bonds with exquisite control of site selectivity. Utility is underscored by the concise synthesis of bioactive compounds and post-reaction functionalizations leading to structurally diverse scaffolds. DFT studies revealed that the regiochemical outcome originates from the orthogonal reactivity and chemoselectivity profiles of in situ-generated organonickel species.