Dinickel-Catalyzed Regio- and Enantioselective α-Alkylation of Acyclic Dialkylketone with Unactivated Alkyl Iodides

Asymmetric α-alkylation of ketones is a powerful synthetic tool; however, its application to challenging substrates, such as acyclic dialkyl ketones and unactivated alkyl electrophiles is limited. We describe a catalytic system employing a dinickel(I) complex that facilitates the enantioselective α-alkylation of acyclic dialkyl ketones using unactivated alkyl iodides. This method efficiently constructs ketones with quaternary carbon stereocenters in high yield while demonstrating outstanding levels of chemo-, regio-, and enantiocontrol.