A novel homobimetallic nickel complex for the asymmetric direct Mannich reaction of imines: a practical method on a multi-gram scale.

A novel dinuclear Ni complex has been developed for the direct Mannich reaction of malonates with N-tosyl aryl imines with a low catalyst loading (0.1-0.05 mol%) on a preparative scale (5-50 mmol). The structure of the active species was verified via control experiments, ESI-HRMS, and DFT calculations.