Diastereoselective Construction of Functionalized Homoallylic Alcohols by Ni-Catalyzed Diboron-Promoted Coupling of Dienes and Aldehydes

The nickel-catalyzed reaction of carbonyls and dienes was accomplished in a regio- and stereoselective fashion employing a stoichiometric amount of bis(pinacolato)diboron. This reductive Coupling furnishes an allyl boronic ester as the reaction product, a Compound which was readily converted to the derived allylic alcohol by oxidative workup.