After establishing feasible conditions, we investigated the generality of this Ni-catalyzed remote hydroarylation reaction (
Scheme 2). Initially, the substrate scope of alkenyl amides with different substituents was evaluated. Substrates with aromatic and aliphatic amides exhibit well-compatibility, delivering valuable secondary
N-
α-aryl amide products (
2a-2u). In general, high levels of
α-regioselectivity (up to 99:1
rr) were observed. For aromatic amides, electron-rich substituents on the phenyl rings gave higher yields than electron-deficient substituents (
2b, 2c vs. 2d, 2e), with yields of 78%–87%. 2-Naphthyl amide also provided the desired product in moderate yields (
2f). Under the existing optimized conditions, aliphatic amides with various substituents are also compatible, delivering the corresponding products in good yields and excellent regioselectivity (
2g-2k). Remarkably, whether it is an internal olefin with
Z or
E configuration, the substrate can react with the electrophile to produce the desired target product (
2l vs. 2m). It is observed that extending the carbon chain will reduce the reaction yield but still maintain a moderate state (
2n-2q). Shortening the carbon chain, whether it is a terminal olefin or an internal olefin, will increase the reaction yield and make the reaction tend to complete (
2r and
2s). When using 1,1-disubstituted alkene or cyclic alkene, the reaction can still give secondary
N-
α-aryl amide products in moderate yields (
2t and
2u). Next, the range of aryl iodides with different substituents was evaluated, and a wide variety of aryl and heteroaryl iodides were found to be tolerated. Electron-rich and electron-poor aryl iodides react readily to provide the desired products in good to excellent yields (
2v-2ao). We also examined alkenyl amines protected by carbamate groups such as Boc and Cbz. However, they did not generate any desired product.
Ortho-substituted iodobenzenes were also found to be compatible, giving a high level of
α-regioselectivity and yield (
2w-2x). As expected, a wide variety of functional groups, including alkyl (
2y, 2aj, 2ak), ester (
2ag), ether (
2z, 2an), fluoride (
2aa), cyano (
2ab), trifluoromethyl (
2ac, 2am) and phenyl (
2al), are easily accommodated. Notably, functional groups sensitive to cross-coupling, such as chlorine (
2ad), bromine (
2ae), iodine (
2af), and easily reducible aldehydes (
2ah) and ketones (
2ai), remained intact, offering an opportunity for downstream transformations. Compounds containing heterocycles such as pyridine (
2ap) and thiophene (
2aq) can also participate effectively in the reaction. Through this protocol, several core structures of biologically active and drug molecules can be easily introduced into our products, such as diacetone-D-glucos (2ar), fenofibrate (2as), indomethacin (2at) and sulbactam (2au), which has potential application in the development of new drugs and the discovery of drug-like molecules [
84,
85].