Boranes, with metal alkyne

Like alkenes, alkynes do not react readily with trialkylboranes. Under severe reaction conditions, only hydroboration products are obtained.116 Mikhailov113 showed that triallylboranes react with various alkynes (20 C) to afford syn addition products of type (78) which rapidly cyclize (40-60 C) to give the cyclic boranes of type (79 Scheme 42). In the case of trimethylsilylacetylene and ethoxyacetylene, the reaction affords compounds of type (78 R = MesSi or OEt) which do not cyclize further.113 Recently, a transition metal silylboration reaction has been described by Oshima and cowoikers.117 A formal syn carboboration reaction leading to a variety of alkenylboranes has been reported by Suzuki and cowoikers118 (Scheme 43). Hexamethyldistannylacetylene (80) reacts readily with various trialkylboranes119 to afford syn addition products of type (81 equation 25). 

A route to non-racemic P-stereogenic vinylphosphine-boranes, e.g., (100), is afforded by the addition of methylphenylphosphine-borane with alkynes in the presence of a chiral diphosphine-palladium catalyst. The ehiral diphosphine-platinum complex-catalysed addition of diethylphosphine to the diene cis,cis-muco-nitrile has given the new diphosphine (101) as a 3 2 mixture of diastereoisomers. Further work has been reported on the use of cyclopentadienyliron complexes that act as metal templates for the intramolecular hydrophosphination of coordinated vinylphosphines with 1,2-diphosphino-alkanes and -benzenes, leading to 1,4,7-triphosphacyclononanes, e.g., (102), capable of further elaboration to form new cyclic phosphines. 

Fortunately, though, there is one borane, catecholborane (A in Figure 16.15), that adds to C=C triple bonds but not to C=C double bonds (in the absence of transition metal catalysts). This reagent adds to alkynes with cw-selectivity, so that the reaction stops at the stage of trans-alkenylboronic acid esters (B in Figure 16.15). 

A theoretical study of the intermediates involved in the formation of phospha-propyne from pyrolysis of vinylphosphirane has led to a new route to phospha-alkynes. Thus, pyrolysis of trimethylsilyl(l-phosphiranyl)diazomethane has yielded MeaSiC = P, via an intermediate 1-phosphiranylmethylene . Regioselec-tivity in the [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between phosphaethyne and diazomethane has been studied by theoretical techniques , and further examples of reactions of this type described . Cycloaddition of phospha-alkynes with silylenes has also been reported. The primary phosphine 324 has been isolated from the addition of diethylphosphite to t-butylphosphaethyne. The chemistry of phospha-alkyne cyclotetramer systems has been reviewed and the first examples of platinum(II) complexes of such cage systems described. Aspects of the reactivity of coordinated phospha-alkynes have received further study, and a remarkable metal-mediated double reduction of t-butylphosphaethyne to the complexed fluorophosphine 325 described Phosphorus-carbon-aluminium cage structures have been isolated from the reactions of kinetically stable phospha-alkynes with trialkylaluminium compounds and new phosphaborane systems have been obtained from the reactions of phospha-alkynes with polyhedral boranes . Further studies of wo-phospha-alkyne coordination chemistry have appeared . The reactivity of the ion 326 has been explored. ... 

Here is a simple example in the field of prostaglandin synthesis where 9-BBN was used on a protected optically active propargyl alcohol.12 The starting material is identical to the alkyne 78 that we reacted with Bu3SnH above and the result is the same - cis hydrometallation with the metal atom at the terminus. However that was a thermodynamically controlled stereoselective radical chain reaction while this is a kinetically controlled stereospecific electrophilic addition to give the vinyl borane -87. 

Insertion into metal boryl bonds is represented by two examples described for a late and an early transition metal complexes. Platinum diboryl complexes react with alkynes to give the diborylated alkene (Scheme 6.61, a) [191]. A titanium(II) metallocene with a coordinated ethylene reacts with borane to give, via insertion of the alkene into a M-B bond and subsequent j6-H ehmination, a complex with a coordinated vinylborane (Scheme 6.61, b) [192]. Both processes can be made catalytic. 

As noted in the introduction to this section, the insertions of alkynes and alkenes into metal-boron bonds appear to be involved in catalytic additions of borane reagents to alkenes and alkynes. One direct observation of the insertion of an alkyne into a metal-boron bond has been reported, and this reaction is shown in Equation 9.91. In another case, the reaction of an olefin with a metal-boryl complex generated products consistent with the... 

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