Acetals 9-alkylboron

The rhodium-catalyzed borylation of methyl C-H bonds is compatible with several moieties containing oxygen, nitrogen, and fluorine.154 For example, the reaction of pinacol acetal of 2-hexanone with bis(pinacolato)diborane (B2pin2) in the presence of Cp Rh(774-C6Me6) catalyst gives the alkylboronate ester in 74% yield (Equation (111)). The rhodium-catalyzed C-H activation and borylation occur at the least hindered and least electron-rich methyl group. 

In 2006, Yu et al. combined pyridinyl-directed C-H activation and C-C bond formation with alkylboronic acids (see Section 10.5.4.2).23 The success of this transformation relied on the combination of palladium acetate (10 mol%), benzoquinone (1 equiv), and silver oxide or carbonate (0.5 equiv) in a protic solvent, but an excess of boronic acid (3 equiv) was required (Scheme 10.9). Interestingly, in this reaction silver oxide played a dual role as promoter for the transmetallation step and as cooxidant with benzoquinone. 

Abe, S. Miyaura, N. Suzuki, A. 1992. The palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of enol acetates of a-bromo ketones with 1-alkenyl-, aryl-, or alkylboron compounds A facile synthesis of ketones and their enol acetates. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 65 2863-2865. 

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