Nickel-catalyzed highly efficient chemoselective reduction of azoarenes to hydrazoarenes in water

Abstract

A nickel-catalyzed synthesis of hydrazoarenes utilizing NH₃BH₃ in water has been developed. This simple synthesis, facilitated by a nickel catalyst, exhibits excellent chemoselectivity, with 22 examples provided without the need for any column chromatography. This strategy introduces a novel nickel-catalyzed reduction system in water, holding promise for industrial applications.