Trifluoroacetic anhydride reaction with boranes

Several alternative procedures have been developed in which other reagents replace carbon monoxide as the migration terminus.11 The most generally applicable of these methods involves the use of cyanide ion and trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA). In this reaction the borane initially forms an adduct with cyanide ion. The migration is induced by N-acylation of the cyano group by TFAA. Oxidation and hydrolysis then give a ketone. 

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