Nickel-catalyzed Ullmann-type coupling reaction to prepare tetra-ortho-substituted biaryls

A nickel-catalyzed Ullmann-type reaction on the coupling of bis-ortho-substituted arylhalides to prepare tetra-ortho-biaryls was brought about in moderate to high yields. Bu^4NI might function as an efficient bridging ligand to accelerate the formation of dinickel-center intermediate, which subsequently eliminates to desired coupling product.