Fig. 5: Mechanistic experiments.
From: Ni-catalyzed benzylic β-C(sp3)–H bond activation of formamides
a tBu-DAPO–Ni–Al complex preparation and reactivity. b Kinetic isotope effect of formyl C–H bond (left), and intra- (middle) and intermolecular (right) kinetic isotope effect of benzylic C–H bond. c 3-Phenylpropyl group instead of benzyl group led to complete γ-C(sp3)–H bond activation, suggesting that γ-C(sp3)–H bond were more reactive than β-C(sp3)–H bonds in the reaction. d Methyl group and tBuCH2 group instead of benzyl group led to no β-C(sp3)–H bond activation, suggesting the presence of benzyl group is critical to the reactivity. e Proposed mechanism.
