Nickel plays a central role as an enzyme co-factor in the metabolism of methanogenic Archaea. Methanogens can fractionate Ni isotopes during assimilation, opening the possibility of using the stable isotopic composition of Ni as a biomarker. However, other sources of Ni isotopic variations need to be evaluated before one can establish Ni isotopes as an unambiguous tracer of methanogenesis in th...

The transposition of a homoallyl pinacol boronic ester was realized by a highly reactive nickel-catalyst system comprising NiCl2(dppp), zinc powder, ZnI2, and Ph2PH. The in situ generated Z-crotyl pinacol boronic esters were reacted with various aldehydes to form syn-homoallylic alcohols in high diastereoselectivities. The present nickel-catalyzed reaction is complementary to the iridium-cataly...

An improved protocol was described for the amination of chloroarenes with diarylamines under NiCl2(PCy3)2 catalysis in the presence of a Grignard reagent as base. This method fully suits bromo-/iodoarene substrates as well, and even is expanded to certain aryl tosylates. A preliminary investigation into the mechanism suggests that this amination reaction might proceed through Ni(I) and Ni(III) ...

Sodium-Metal Halide batteries are a promising and cheap alternative to lithium-ion ones for stationary applications such as smart grids. However, the reliability of their elemental cell is low, battery composed hundreds cells could likely have several broken after few working years. Luckily, failure mechanisms not destructive convert in an almost ideal short-circuit. A simulation platform quant...