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A nickel-catalyzed reductive cyclization of enones affords a wide array of indanones in high enantiomeric induction. The reaction is featured with an unprecedented broad scope of substrates. The versatility of the new method is demonstrated in several short stereoselective syntheses of medically valuable (R)-tolterodine, parent and deuterated (+)-indatraline, and an antitumor natural product, (+)-multisianthol. In comparison, these compounds cannot be prepared satisfactorily via analogous processes catalyzed by palladium.

A nickel‐catalyzed asymmetric reductive Heck reaction of aryl chlorides has been developed that affords substituted indolines with high enantioselectivity. Manganese powder is used as the terminal reductant with water as a proton source. Mechanistically, it is distinct from the palladium‐catalyzed process in that the nickel–carbon bond is converted into a C−H bond to release the product through protonation instead of hydride donation followed by C−H reductive elimination on Pd. MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Accepted version