Nickel-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Acylation of Heteroarenes by sp2 C-H Functionalization

Nickel-catalyzed ligand-free decarboxylative cross-coupling of azole derivatives with alpha-oxoglyoxylic acids has been developed. This work represents the first example of decarboxylative cross-coupling reactions, in a C-H bond functionalization manner, through nickel catalysis, and tolerates various functional groups. Additionally, this approach provides an efficient access to azole ketones, an important structural motif in many medicinal compounds with a broad range of biological activities.