Borane hydroboration agent

Figure 6 Some common disubstituted borane hydroborating agents...

Diborane [19287-45-7] the first hydroborating agent studied, reacts sluggishly with olefins in the gas phase (14,15). In the presence of weak Lewis bases, eg, ethers and sulfides, it undergoes rapid reaction at room temperature or even below 0°C (16—18). The catalytic effect of these compounds on the hydroboration reaction is attributed to the formation of monomeric borane complexes from the borane dimer, eg, borane-tetrahydrofuran [14044-65-6] (1) or borane—dimethyl sulfide [13292-87-0] (2) (19—21). Stronger complexes formed by amines react with olefins at elevated temperatures (22—24). 

Mono- and diaLkylboranes obtained by controlled hydroboration of hindered olefins and by other methods can serve as valuable hydroborating agents for more reactive olefins. Heterosubstituted boranes are also available and used for this purpose. These borane derivatives show differences in reactivity and selectivity. 

Borabicyclo [3.3.1] nonane [280-64-8], 9-BBN (13) is the most versatile hydroborating agent among dialkylboranes. It is commercially available or can be conveniendy prepared by the hydroboration of 1,5-cyclooctadiene with borane, followed by thermal isomerization of the mixture of isomeric bicychc boranes initially formed (57,109). 

Among chiral dialkylboranes, diisopinocampheylborane (8) is the most important and best-studied asymmetric hydroborating agent. It is obtained in both enantiomeric forms from naturally occurring a-pinene. Several procedures for its synthesis have been developed (151—153). The most convenient one, providing product of essentially 100% ee, involves the hydroboration of a-pinene with borane—dimethyl sulfide in tetrahydrofuran (154). Other chiral dialkylboranes derived from terpenes, eg, 2- and 3-carene (155), limonene (156), and longifolene (157,158), can also be prepared by controlled hydroboration. A more tedious approach to chiral dialkylboranes is based on the resolution of racemates. /n j -2,5-Dimethylborolane, which shows excellent enantioselectivity in the hydroboration of all principal classes of prochiral alkenes except 1,1-disubstituted terminal double bonds, has been... 

Certain base adducts of borane, such as triethylamine borane [1722-26-5] (C2H )2N BH, dimethyl sulfide borane [13292-87-OJ, (CH2)2S BH, and tetrahydrofuran borane [14044-65-6] C HgO BH, are more easily and safely handled than B2H and are commercially available. These compounds find wide use as reducing agents and in hydroboration reactions (57). A wide variety of borane reducing agents and hydroborating agents is available from Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Base displacement reactions can be used to convert one adduct to another. The relative stabiUties of BH adducts as a function of Group 15 and 16 donor atoms are P > N and S > O. This order has sparked controversy because the trend opposes the normal order estabUshed by BF. In the case of anionic nucleophiles, base displacement leads to ionic hydroborate adducts (eqs. 20,21). 

A more convenient hydroborating agent is the borane-tetrahydrofuran complex (H3B-THF). It is very reactive, adding to alkenes within minutes at 0°C, and is used in tetrahydrofuran as the solvent. 

Hydroboration, the addition of a boron-hydrogen bond across an unsaturated moiety, was first discovered by H. C. Brown in 1956. Usually, the reaction does not require a catalyst, and the borane reagent, most commonly diborane (B2H6) or a borane adduct (BH3-THF), reacts rapidly at room temperature to afford, after oxidation, the /AMarkovnikov alkene hydration product. However, when the boron of the hydroborating agent is bonded to heteroatoms which lower the electron deficiency, as is the case in catecholborane (1,3,2-benzodioxaborole) 1 (Scheme 1), elevated temperatures are needed for hydroboration to occur.4 5... 

More recent work employing diphosphine ligands has focused on both new substrates for hydroboration and also new hydroborating agents. Specifically, Gevorgyan has successfully employed cyclopropenes 56 as substrates, with pinacolboranes 13 as the borane source.20 Impressive enantioselectivities were obtained with a range of diphosphines, for example, with rhodium complexes of NORPHOS (>99% ee), PHANEPHOS (97% ee), BINAP (94% ee), and Tol-BINAP (96% ee), all with near perfect m-selectivity (see Scheme 8). 

Hydroboration-oxidation is a useful method when the desired product is the anti-Mcirkovnikov alcohol. The borane-containing reactant is normally dibo-rane (B2Hg) or the borane tetrahydrofuran complex (BHj THF). No matter what hydroboration agent is used, it s usually simplified to BH3 in the mechanism. BH3 is a useful reactant because it s a good Lewis acid. 

The synthesis of enantiomerically pure compounds is the challenging problem for organic chemists. The synthesis becomes obsolete if the intermediates produce racemic mixtures. The problem is particularly acute when the asymmetric centers do not reside in a rigid cyclic or polycyclic framework. To be able to carry out efficient syntheses of complex molecules, chemists have to control the sense of chirality at each chiral center as it is introduced in the course of synthesis. Monoalkyl- or dialkyl-boranes exhibit a remarkable chemo-, stereo-, and regioselectivity for the hydroboration of unsaturated compounds. This property, coupled with the capability for asymmetric creation of chiral centers with chiral hydroboration agents, makes the reaction most valuable for asymmetric organic synthesis. In some of the cases, however, this has been achieved by diborane itself as shown in the synthesis of monensin by Kishi et al. A stereospecific synthesis of its seven carbon. component has been accomplished by two hydroboration reactions (Eq. 129) 209. ... 

Commercially available solutions of H3B-THF in THF (Aldrich-Boranes, Inc., 2371 N. 30th St., Milwaukee, WI 53210) which are used in this synthesis, contain approximately 5% of sodium tetrahydroboratefl —) as a stabilizer. Tri(sec-butyl)borane prepared from these solutions should be distilled. An alternative commercial (Aldrich-Boranes, Inc.) hydroborating agent free of sodium tetrahydroborate(l —) is borane-methyl sulfide. 

In principle, all borane-Lewis base complexes are potential hydroborating agents. To a first approximation, however, the stronger the complex, the less reactive it is as a hydroborating agent, because free borane may be required for hydroboration (see Section 3.10.6). ... 

Few publications have explored the different properties of a range of hydroborating agents with a single substrate. More commonly, the properties of a particular reagent have been compared only with those of borane-THF or 9-BBN-H. Nevertheless, it appears from these reports that there are essentially two other types of diorganylboranes (i) those which are very hindered, i.e. more hindered than 9-BBN-H and (ii) those which are less hindered than 9-BBN-H, i.e. di-primary-alkylboranes. 

Soderquist, J. A. Medina, J. R. Huertas, R., Novel Hydroborating Agents from Silyamine-Boranes. Tetrahedron Lett. 1998, 39, 6119. 

Several mono- and dialkylboranes obtained by controlled hydroboration of olefins are valuable hydroborating agents. Heterosubstituted borane derivatives are also available, and the search for new reagents, including higher boranes, continues . The most frequently used are shown in Fig. 1 where for convenience monomeric forms are presented. 

These difficulties can be circumvented by application of alkyl- or aryl-substituted boranes as hydroborating agents. The reagents are obtained either by partial hydroboration of hindered alkenes [Eqs. (ae), (af), (bj)-(bl)] or by other methods, e.g., redistribution or reduction - ... 

Borane-triethylamine complex proceeds similarly as a hydroborating agent. Low concentration of borane in the mixture provided by slow thermal dissociation of the complex is advantageous in these hydroborations facilitating the formation of cyclic products . 

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