Olefin shuffle for just a nickel

Organic Chemistry Controlling the geometry of carbon-carbon double bonds is a central component of chemical manufacturing. One useful trick is to shift hydrogen atoms around to interconvert C=C isomers selectively. However, this approach typically requires precious metals. Kapat et al. now report that more-abundant nickel can catalyze rapid conversion of terminal olefins into internal olefins with high selectivity for trans geometry. The odd-electron nickel complex relies on a radical mechanism to shuttle hydrogen to the terminal carbon from the saturated carbon adjacent to the double bond. Science , this issue p. [391][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aav1610