Chemistry of Group 13 element-transition metal linkage — the platinum- and palladium-catalyzed reactions of (alkoxo)diborons

Microwave-assisted synthesis of pinacol boronates from aryl chlorides catalyzed by a palladium/imidazolium salt system

[reaction: see text] Aryl chlorides bearing electron-withdrawing groups react with bis(pinacol)borane 1 to give aryl boronates in good to excellent yields in the presence of a catalyst formed in situ from Pd(OAc)(2) and the imidazolium chloride 2. The reaction is greatly accelerated when carried out under microwave heating.

Mild iridium-catalyzed borylation of arenes. High turnover numbers, room temperature reactions, and isolation of a potential intermediate

The borylation of arenes leads to the formation of synthetically versatile products from unactivated arene reagents. We report that Ir(I) precursors in conjunction with bipyridine ligands catalyze in high yields the borylation of arenes under mild conditions. These reactions encompase arenes bearing both electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents. The temperatures required for the transformation are much lower than those previously reported for direct arene borylation. The combination of [Ir(COE)2Cl]2 and (4,4-di-t-butyl)bipyridine even allows for reaction at room temperature. The same catalyst system at 100 degrees C provides remarkably high turnover numbers for a hydrocarbon functionalization process. Mechanistic studies show that the reactions involve uncommon, Ir(II) tris-boryl complexes. An example of this type of complex ligated by di-t-butylbipyridine was isolated and structurally characterized. It reacted rapidly at room temperature to produce aryl boronate esters in high yields.

Rhodium(I)-catalyzed asymmetric 1,4-addition of arylboronic acids to alpha,beta-unsaturated amides

The conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to alpha,beta-unsaturated amides was carried out in the presence of a chiral rhodium catalyst and an aqueous base. The catalyst prepared in situ from Rh(acac)(CH(2)=CH(2))(2) and (S)-binap provided (R)-N-benzyl-3-phenylbutanamide with 93% ee in the addition of phenylboronic acid to N-benzyl crotonamide. The reaction suffered from incomplete conversion resulting in moderate yields, but addition of an aqueous base, such as K(2)CO(3) (10-50 mol%) was found to be highly effective to improve the chemical yields. The role of the base giving a RhOH species active for transmetalation with arylboronic acids was discussed.

Regioselective aromatic borylation in an inert solvent

[reaction: see text]. A protocol for performing Rh catalyzed aromatic borylations in cyclohexane has been devised. Borylation at the 5-position of several 1,3-substituted aromatic species ranging from electron-rich (1,3-(NMe(2))(2)C(6)H(4)) to electron-deficient (1,3-(CF(3))(2)C(6)H(4)) yields the corresponding aryl boronate esters. Veratrole was selectively borylated at the 4-position, thus extending regioselectivity to 1,2-substituted benzenes. Selective borylation at the 3-position of an N-protected pyrrole has also been demonstrated, providing a valuable reagent for cross-coupling reactions in a single step.