A novel and efficient arylation of malononitrile catalyzed by nickel(0) complexes

We report the first use of a nickel catalyst for the direct arylation of a β-difunctionalized compound, the malononitrile, from halogenated aromatic substrates. The catalytic system is quite simple: Ni(PPh3)3, generated in situ from NiBr2(PPh3)2, PPh3 and zinc. Good yields and excellent selectivities have been obtained in α-arylmalononitriles from iodobenzene, but also from bromo- or chloro-aromatic substrates.