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Abstract A flurry of recent research has centered on harnessing the power of nickel catalysis in organic synthesis. These efforts have been bolstered by contemporaneous development of well‐defined nickel (pre)catalysts with diverse structure and reactivity. In this report, we present ten different bench‐stable, 18‐electron, formally zero‐valent nickel–olefin complexes that are competent pre‐catalysts in various reactions. Our investigation includes preparations of novel, bench‐stable Ni(COD)(L) complexes (COD=1,5‐cyclooctadiene), in which L=quinone, cyclopentadienone, thiophene‐S‐oxide, and fulvene. Characterization by NMR, IR, single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and natural bond orbital analysis sheds light on the structure, bonding, and properties of these complexes. Applications in an assortment of nickel‐catalyzed reactions underscore the complementary nature of the different pre‐catalysts within this toolkit. 

Abstract We report that Ni(COD)(DQ) (COD=1,5‐cyclooctadiene, DQ=duroquinone), an air‐stable 18‐electron complex originally described by Schrauzer in 1962, is a competent precatalyst for a variety of nickel‐catalyzed synthetic methods from the literature. Due to its apparent stability, use of Ni(COD)(DQ) as a precatalyst allows reactions to be conveniently performed without use of an inert‐atmosphere glovebox, as demonstrated across several case studies.