Conjugated compounds, reaction with boranes

Reactions of chiral allylic boranes with carbonyl compounds Reactions of chiral allyl boranes with imines Asymmetric Addition of Carbon Nucleophiles to Ketones Addition of alkyl lithiums to ketones Asymmetric epoxidation with chiral sulfur ylids Asymmetric Nucleophilic Attack by Chiral Alcohols Deracemisation of arylpropionic acids Deracemisation of a-halo acids Asymmetric Conjugate Addition of Nitrogen Nucleophiles An asymmetric synthesis of thienamycin Asymmetric Protonation... 

This commoner type of reaction involves the attack of carbon or heteroatom nucleophiles onto carbonyl compounds, by direct or conjugate addition, and onto imines. Because we have just dealt with boranes we shall start with the reaction of allylic boron compounds with such electrophiles. You might strictly not call this nucleophilic attack. 

The formal conjugate addition of a hydride to a,f(-unsaturated carbonyl compounds with a subsequent aldol reaction of the in situ formed enolate has been frequently employed in organic synthesis. A broad range of procedures have been developed using various metals (e.g., rhodium, cobalt, iridium, mthenium, copper) and different reductants (typically silanes, boranes, or elemental hydrogen) [37]. 

A quite new class of catalysts based on early main group metals (Ca, Sr, and K) was recently reported to promote general conversion of conjugated double bond (137). The catalytic reaction is initiated by the formation of a highly reactive metal hydride that adds either to an alkene or to a silane. The regiochemistry for the hydrosilylation of 1,1-diphenylethylene (DPE) catalyzed by calcium complex can be completely controlled by the polarity of the solvent. Amine borane and phosphine borane complexes were successfully used as effective catalysts for hydrosilylation of organic compounds with internal unsaturated bond (138) that cannot be selectively hydrosilylated in the presence of Pt catalysts. 

Boron.—Boron-Hydrogen Compounds. Theoretical calculations have been made of likely sites for electrophilic and nucleophilic attack in a number of boranes and related anions. Electrophilic benzoylation of PioHjo " to form [2-BioH,COPh] follows simple second-order kinetics in acetonitrile. Reaction is inhibited by acid, and a kinetic analysis suggests that it is due to conversion of [BjoHioP" into the unreactive conjugate acid with K = 4.6moldm. The reaction of... 

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