Diborane formation

The reaction of hydrogen with borides has been little studied. Evidence of diborane formation has been found at Vi400°C with the borides of magnesium, calcium, and... 

Synthesis by high-dilution techniques requires slow admixture of reagents ( 8-24 hrs) or very large volumes of solvents 100 1/mmol). Fast reactions can also be carried out in suitable flow cells (J.L. Dye, 1973). High dilution conditions have been used in the dilactam formation from l,8-diamino-3,6-dioxaoctane and 3,6-dioxaoctanedioyl dichloride in benzene. The amide groups were reduced with lithium aluminum hydride, and a second cyclization with the same dichloride was then carried out. The new bicyclic compound was reduced with diborane. This ligand envelops metal ions completely and is therefore called a cryptand (B. Dietrich, 1969). 

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). 

Olefins may be obtained by elimination from the organoboron intermediates formed from enol derivatives and diborane. " As in the reaction with a,jS-unsaturated ketones (section IX), the conversion is carried out in two parts first formation of the diborane adduct and second, decomposition in refluxing acetic anhydride. 

Olefin formation by reduction of a,/3-un-saturated ketones with diborane, 347 Olefin formation by reductive eliminations, 343... 

Iodine azide, on the other hand, forms pure adducts with A -, A - and A -steroids by a mechanism analogous to that proposed for iodine isocyanate additions. Reduction of such adducts can lead to aziridines. However, most reducing agents effect elimination of the elements of iodine azide from the /mwj -diaxial adducts of the A - and A -olefins rather than reduction of the azide function to the iodo amine. Thus, this sequence appears to be of little value for the synthesis of A-, B- or C-ring aziridines. It is worthy to note that based on experience with nonsteroidal systems the application of electrophilic reducing agents such as diborane or lithium aluminum hydride-aluminum chloride may yet prove effective for the desired reduction. Lithium aluminum hydride accomplishes aziridine formation from the A -adducts, Le., 16 -azido-17a-iodoandrostanes (97) in a one-step reaction. The scope of this addition has been considerably enhanced by the recent... 

The sodium borohydride solution is added dropwise to the stirred boron trifluoride etherate-diglyme solution resulting in the formation of diborane. The gas is swept into the olefin-TH F solution (held at 20°) by maintaining a slow flow of dry nitrogen through the generator. 

H.12 The reaction of boron trifluoride, BF,(g), with sodium borohydride, NaBH4(s), leads to the formation of sodium tetrafluoroborate, NaBF4(s), and diborane gas, B2Hfc(g). The diborane reacts with the oxygen in air, forming boron oxide, B20 j(s), and water. Write the two balanced equations leading to the formation of boron oxide. 

A demonstration of the feasibility of a reaction is illustrated in the following example regarding the formation of titanium diboride using either diborane or boron trichloride as a boron source, as shown in the following reactions ... 

With phosphorus trichloride, a rather complex reaction results partly in the formation of [PhaP N uPPha PPhCl]+ Cl. The reactivity of the phosphorus(iii) atom is also demonstrated by its ability to desulphurize thiophosphoryl chloride, and its ready reactions with Group VI elements, diborane, and carbon disulphide ... 

Diborane also has a useful pattern of selectivity. It reduces carboxylic acids to primary alcohols under mild conditions that leave esters unchanged.77 Nitro and cyano groups are relatively unreactive toward diborane. The rapid reaction between carboxylic acids and diborane is the result of formation of a triacyloxyborane intermediate by protonolysis of the B-H bonds. The resulting compound is essentially a mixed anhydride of the carboxylic acid and boric acid in which the carbonyl groups have enhanced reactivity toward borane or acetoxyborane. 

The monomeric borane is extremely endothermic (AHy +105.5 kJ/mol, 7.62 kj/g) and on formation apparently immediately dimerises to diborane (or higher boranes). It is usually stabilised as the monomer by the formation of various complexes with N, O, P or S donor molecules and many of these are available commercially. 

The equilibrium geometry and three-center NBOs of the protonated ethylene model are displayed in Fig 3.97. The qualitative similarities to the diborane bridge bond (Fig. 3.93) are evident. Thus, the 7t—s model (cf. Fig. 3.91) may be considered a useful descriptive picture of three-center T-bond formation in diborane. 

In addition, arylthiophene 70 was obtained by a one-pot Suzuki coupling of p-methoxyiodobenzene and 3-bromothiophene via an in situ boronate formation using one equivalent of the thermally stable diborane 69 [55], This method avoids the isolation of boronic acids and is advantageous when base-sensitive groups such as aldehyde, nitriles and esters are present. However, the cross-coupling yields are low when both aryl halides are electron-poor because of competitive homocoupling during the reaction. 

Enantioselective reduction of ketones.1 The ability of diborane in combination with the vic-amino alcohol (S)-2-amino-3-methyl-l,l-diphenyl-l-butanol (12, 31) to effect enantioselective reduction of alkyl aryl ketones involves formation of an intermediate chiral oxazaborolidine, which can be isolated and used as a catalyst for enantioselective borane reductions (equation I). 

It was shown that the rate of decomposition of diborane follows a rate law that corresponds to d(B2H6) = k B2H(, 2. This is consistent with the dissociation of diborane into BH3 as the rate determining step with formation of B3H9. This intermediate then decomposes with hydrogen evolution to give unstable B3H7 which on reaction with further BH3 produces B4H10 as the first isolable poly-borane ... 

In general the deprotonation of a polyborane B H +m (to = 4,6) leads to the anions [BnHn+m-i] or [B H +m 2]2 by removal of one or two protons from a BHB 3c2e bridge with formation of a B-B single bond. Cluster expansion with a BH3 unit, usually offered as diborane in diethyl ether or tetrahydrofuran, produces borane anions [B +1H +m+2] or [B +1H +m+1]2 and these in turn on protonation give the polyboranes Bn+iHn+m+-. These may be stable species. However, in most cases they loose H2 which results in a cluster expansion by one BH unit. Several examples of this method are described in the following sections. 

Alkali metal borohydrides are frequently used for the reduction of rc-electron-deficient heteroaromatic systems, but reduction of jt-electron-excessive arenes is generally possible only after protonation of the systems [e.g. 35-37]. The use of tetra-n-butylammonium borohydride under neutral conditions for the conversion of alkylindoles into indolines [38] is therefore somewhat unusual. Reduction of indoles by diborane under strongly alkaline conditions involves the initial interaction of the indolyl anion with the diborane to form an amino-borane which, under the basic conditions, reacts with a second molecule of diborane to produce the indoline [39]. The reaction of tetra-n-butylammonium borohydride with indoles could also proceed via the intermediate formation of diborane. 

It was initially proposed that reduction of ketones by quaternary ammonium borohydrides in dichloromethane (see Section 11.3) might be accounted for by the initial slow formation of diborane. However, the generation of diborane under such conditions is too slow to have any influence on the reduction. 

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