Alkanes boron halides

Reactions with halogens give boron halides. While reaction with chlorine can be explosive with diborane, it is slow with bromine. Diborane reacts with alkanes forming alkylboranes. Reactions with aromatics give arylboranes. 

Olah and Kuhn S found that fluorochloro-, fluorobromo- and fluoroiodo-alkanes are effective chloro-, bromo- and iodo-aikylating agents, respectively, in Friedel-Crafts alkylations of arenes in the presence of boron halide catalysts (equation 86). Boron trihalides catalyzq reactions of only the C—F bonds, but not of the C—Cl, C—Br or C—I bonds. The order of reactivity of the catalysts was found to be BI3 > BBr3 > BCI3 > BF3, and that of the carbon-halogen bonds C—F > C—Cl > C—Br > C—I. 

In contrast to the rare occurrence of the oxidative addition of C-C bonds, the oxidative addition of the nonpolar bonds between two main group atoms, such as boron and silicon, can be facile. The oxidative addition of Si-Si bonds in disilanes and the B-B bond in diborane(4) reagents is likely to be a step in a variety of catalytic reactions, including the additions of disilanes, - diborane(4) reagents, and silaboranes - across olefins and alkynes, the silylation and borylation of arene C-H bonds, - - the borylation of alkane C-H bonds, and the conversion of aryl halides to arylsilanes and arylbo-ronate esters. " ... 

Alkylation of Aromatics. Aromatic hydrocarbons containing a replaceable hydrogen can be alkylated unless steric effects prevent introduction of the alkyl group (61,78-82). The reaction is called the Friedel-Crafts alkylation, first realized in the presence of aluminum chloride, which is the catalyst still the most frequently used and studied in Friedel-Crafts reactions. In addition, many other acid catalysts are effective (80,82-84). These include other Lewis acids (other aluminum halides, gallium chloride, boron trifluoride, ferric chloride, zinc chloride, stannous and stannic chloride, antimony chloride) and protic acids (hydrogen fluoride, concentrated sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, polyphosphoric acid, trifluo-romethanesulfonic acid, and alkane- and arenesulfonic acids). 

A modified stepwise hydroboration avoiding the use of lithium aluminum hydride has also been developed (Schane 23.30). It was discovered that trialkylsilane reacts rapidly with boron trihalide to form unsolvated dihaloborane. Subsequent reaction with alkenes in the presence of sufficient boron trihalide occurs rapidly at -78°C to afford alkylboron dihalides without detectable contamination by dialkylboron halides. If additional equivalents of both trialkylsilane and alkene are added, dialkylboron halides are obtained. The methodology has been successfully applied to the synthesis of l,l,I-tris(dichloroboryl)alkanes, important precursors for dicarbapentaboranes. ... 

The reaction of certain palladium-heteroatom complexes to alkenes and alkynes is a versatile tool for the synthesis of alkanes and alkene having heteroatoms attached. In particular, the various B-B, B-Si, and B-Sn compounds can be used for palladium-catalyzed borylation of alkenes and alkynes (Scheme 5-2). Borostannylation takes place at ambient temperature, whereas silylboration " only proceeds at a temperature above 80 °C due to the slow oxidative addition of a B-Si bond to a palladium(O) catalyst. Both reactions selectively provide cz j-products via addition of silicone or tin to the internal carbon and boron. The reactions are compatible with various functional groups for both terminal and internal alkynes. Cross-coupling reaction of boranes with organic halides selectively occurs at the terminal C-B bonds to provide regiodefined and stereodefined alkenylboron, alkenylsilicon, and alkenyltin compounds. 

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