Aliphatic nitro compounds are valuable synthetic in-termediates;'however, their full potential has not been realized because of the limited availability of satisfactory synthetic methods involving carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions of such nitro compounds. A major reason for this has been the propensity of aliphatic nitro compounds to undergo oxygen alkylation and acylation in preference to carbon alkylation2 and a~ ylation.~~~ This has been ...