Formation of four different aromatic scaffolds from nitriles through tandem divergent catalysis

A zinc bromide complex, formed by the sequential reaction of nitriles with a Reformatsky reagent and terminal alkynes, is used as an intermediate for divergent palladium-catalyzed reactions. The reaction pathway of the intermediate is precisely controlled by the choice of the reaction solvent or the palladium catalyst to quickly form four different aromatic scaffolds--arylamines, aminoindenes, pyrroles, and quinolines--starting from readily available nitriles.