Nickeleophilic addition! The first example of a nickel‐catalyzed direct intramolecular nucleophilic addition of aryl or vinyl chlorides to α‐ketoamides throughCCl bondactivation is reported, which takes place under mild reaction conditions (see scheme).
A nickel-catalyzed intramolecularaddition of vinyl or aryl bromides to ketoamides has been developed. The reactions proceeded efficiently with Ni(bpy)Br2 as a catalyst and zinc powder as reducing agent, affording 3-hydroxypyrrolidinones, 3-hydroxyoxindoles, and dihydroquinolinones as important heterocyclic compounds in good to excellent yields.