Traditional syntheses of low-valent nickel complexes, such as the archetypal Ni(0) species, Ni(COD)₂, require the use stoichiometric quantities of pyrophoric organometallic reductants, such as DIBAL–H, which pose operational and safety complications. In our most recent study, we report a convenient, green, and scalable electroreductive route to Ni(COD)₂ as well as other useful low-valent nickel species, including the air-stable Ni(0) precatalyst, Ni(COD)(DQ), that avoids stoichiometric reductants altogether. The method can conveniently performed using the standardized IKA ElectraSyn 2.0 or alternatively in a recirculating flow setup. Congrats to the entire collaborative team: Camille (Engle lab, Scripps Research & Vantourout lab, University of Lyon; Yilin (Engle lab, Scripps Research), Tamara and Gabriele (Baran lab, Scripps Research); Greg and Steve (Bristol Myers Squibb); and Xiangyu (Lin lab, Cornell).

For a link to the pre-print in ChemRxiv, click here: https://chemrxiv.org/engage/chemrxiv/article-details/642b6699a029a26b4cde3e3e