Boronate esters trialkyl borates

The general formula for boric acid esters is B(OR)2. The lower molecular weight esters such as methyl, ethyl, and phenyl are most commonly referred to as methyl borate [121 -43-7] ethyl borate [130-46-9J, and phenyl borate [1095-03-0] respectively. Some of the most common boric acid esters used in industrial appHcations are Hsted in Table 1. The nomenclature in the boric acid ester series can be confusing. The lUPAC committee on boron chemistry has suggested using trialkoxy- and triaryloxyboranes (5) for compounds usually referred to as boric acid esters, trialkyl (or aryl) borates, trialkyl (or aryl) orthoborates, alkyl (or aryl) borates, alkyl (or aryl) orthoborates, and in the older Hterature as boron alkoxides and aryloxides. CycHc boric acid esters, which are trimeric derivatives of metaboric acid (HBO2), are known as boroxines (1). 

In recent years, a variety of aryl boronic acids are commercially available, albeit in some cases they may be expensive for large scale purposes. During our work in the mid-1990 s boronic acid (II) was not commercially available and so two different protocols were used to prepare this acid. The first approach involved the transmetallation with n-butyl lithium of aryl bromide (I) and trapping the lithio species generated with trialkyl borate followed by an acid quench. Aryl bromide (I) is easily prepared by reaction of o-bromobenzenesulfonyl chloride with 2-propanol in the presence of pyridine as a base. The second approach was a directed metallation of isopropyl ester of benzene sulfonic acid (VII), to generate the same lithio species and reaction with trialkyl borate. The sulfonyl ester is prepared by reaction of 2-propanol with benzenesulfonyl chloride. From a long-term strategy the latter approach is... 

Arylboronate esters are made by a two-step process First, we convert the aryl halide to the aryllithium compound (Chapter 10). Addition of a trialkyl borate (often trimethyl borate) allows the organolithium compound to form a carbon-boron bond and expel an alkoxide group. 

All the reactions of the hydrocyanation process are catalyzed by zero-valent nickel phosphine or phosphite complexes. These are used in combination with Lewis acid promoters such as zinc chloride, trialkyl boron compounds, or trialkyl borate ester. The ability of the precatalyst to undergo ligand dissociation... 

Boronates (i.e. boronic acids and esters) are usually prepared by one of two methods reaction of organo-lithiums or Grignard reagents with a trialkyl borate, usually tri-Ao-propyl borate, or palladium-catalysed boronation. 

Esters of alkyl- and aryl-boron acids can be obtained analogously by reaction of a trialkyl borate with an appropriate Grignard reagent 216... 

Thus formed, organometallics are trapped with tiialkyl borates to produce whether the desired arylboronic [149-151,153] or diarylboronic esters [152], depending on the reaction conditions discussed above. The diarylboronic acids have also been successfully used in the Pd(PPh3)4-catalysed SM reactions with aryl triflates, under the standard conditions [152]. Beside trialkyl borates, A,A-dimethylaminoboron bromide has been trapped with organolithiums to give an unstable bis-aminoboronate 349, which, upon esterification with pinacol, gave the 1,4-phenylene-bis-pinacolato boronate (266) in 21% overall yield [154], Scheme 50. 

In pursuit of alternative methods of isocyanate production, the results of investigations with simple boron halides, BX3 (X = Cl, Br), in converting carbamate esters to isocyanates of industrial importance were reported. Additionally, it has previously been shown that BX3 can be generated in the production of benzyl esters by reaction of trialkyl borates with benzylic halides and CO in the presence of catalytic quantities of Pd° or Rh [244-246]. This offers the rather attractive option of two concomitant processes achieving commercially valuable ends, together with constant recycling of boron. 

Trialkyl derivatives of boron, and in fact many other molecules such as boroxines with carbon-boron bonds, react readily with oxygen. The initial products are peroxy derivatives with BOOR bonds, which tend to react further to form borate esters. The ease of the initial reaction is shown by the fact that reported examples of vinyl polymerization induced by trialkyl borons require oxygen and are actually radical processes induced by the boron oxygen reaction or intermediate peroxides (7). 

Ebelman and Bouquet prepared the first examples of boric acid esters in 1846 from boron trichloride and alcohols. Literature reviews of this subject are available. B The general class of boric acid esters includes the more common orthoboric acid based trialkoxy- and triaryloxyboranes, B(0R)3 (1), and also the cyclic boroxins, (ROBO)3, which are based on metaboric acid (2). The boranes can be simple trialkoxyboranes, cyclic diol derivatives, or more complex trigonal and tetrahedral derivatives of polyhydric alcohols. Nomenclature is confusing in boric acid ester chemistry. Many trialkoxy- and triaryloxyboranes such as methyl, ethyl, and phenyl are commonly referred to simply as methyl, ethyl, and phenyl borates. The lUPAC boron nomenclature committee has recommended the use of trialkoxy- and triaryloxyboranes for these compounds, but they are referred to in the literature as boric acid esters, trialkoxy and triaryloxy borates, trialkyl and triaryl borates or orthoborates, and boron alkoxides and aryloxides. The lUPAC nomenclature will be used in this review except for relatively common compounds such as methyl borate. Boroxins are also referred to as metaborates and more commonly as boroxines. Boroxin is preferred by the lUPAC nomenclature committee and will be used in this review. 

---