“…As exemplified in Scheme 4, the scope is striking because both C(sp 2 )- and C(sp 3 )-hybridized electrophiles, including aryl cyanide, aryl chloride, alkyl chloride, and alkyl bromides, could be employed. Using styrene as the model substrate, most of the cyano-substituted pyridines are effective coupling partners, in spite of the electronic and substituent effects of the cyano group at the C-2, C-3, C-4 positions ( 33–54 ) and clearly illustrate the true complementary nature of this method to Minisci-type reactions 18 or radical based ipso -substitution of pyridine nitriles 19,20 given that a challenging C-3 substituted product is also accessible ( 48 ). More importantly, other aryl (or azines) cyanides, including 2 or 4-cyanoquinoline, 1-cyano-isoquinoline, 1,4- or 1,2-dicyanobenzene, 4-cyanobiphenyl, and even benzonitrile were also allowed in the reaction, providing the desired products 49–55 in moderate to good yields.…”