Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Allyl Alcohols with Aryl- or Alkenylzinc Reagents

Nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling of allyl alcohols with aryl- and alkenylzinc chlorides through C-O bond cleavage was performed. Reaction of (E)-3-phenylprop-2-en-1-ol and 1-aryl-prop-2-en-1-ols with aryl- or alkenylzinc chlorides gave linear cross-coupling products. Reaction of 1-phenyl- or 1-methyl-substituted (E)-3-phenylprop-2-en-1-ol with aryl- or alkenylzinc chlorides resulted in 3-aryl/alkenyl-substituted (E)-(prop-1-ene-1,3-diyl)dibenzenes or 3-aryl/alkenyl-substituted (E)-(but-1-enyl)benzene. Reaction of allyl alcohol with p-Me2NC6H4ZnCl resulted in a mixture of normal coupling product 4-allyl-N,N-dimethylaniline and its isomerized product N,N-dimethyl-4-(prop-1-en-1-yl)aniline.