Dicyclohexylborane, reaction with alkynes

A synthetically useful virtue of enol triflates is that they are amenable to palladium-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions under mild conditions. When a solution of enol triflate 21 and tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(o) in benzene is treated with a mixture of terminal alkyne 17, n-propylamine, and cuprous iodide,17 intermediate 22 is formed in 76-84% yield. Although a partial hydrogenation of the alkyne in 22 could conceivably secure the formation of the cis C1-C2 olefin, a chemoselective hydrobora-tion/protonation sequence was found to be a much more reliable and suitable alternative. Thus, sequential hydroboration of the alkyne 22 with dicyclohexylborane, protonolysis, oxidative workup, and hydrolysis of the oxabicyclo[2.2.2]octyl ester protecting group gives dienic carboxylic acid 15 in a yield of 86% from 22. 

With sterically hindered dialkylboranes, such as dicyclohexylborane (Chx2BH) and disiamylborane (Sia2BH), the stoichiometric hydroborations of both terminal and internal alkynes stops at the monoaddition stage. However, the stoichiometric reaction of 1-alkynes with 9-BBN affords mainly the 1,1-diborylalkanes. ... 

TMS-alkynes are oxidized at the terminal carbon to carboxylic acids by hydroboration/oxidation (dicyclohexylborane/NaOH, H2O2). This does not work with TIPS-alkynes. Instead, TIPS-alkynes are cleanly monohydroborated at the internal carbon by 9-borabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane dimer to give (Z)- -borylvinyl-silanes. These can be oxidized in high yields to a-silyl ketones, or cross coupled with a bromide R Br (R = aryl, benzyl, dimethyl-vinyl) in the presence of NaOH and tetrakis(triphenylphos-phine)palladium(0) to give /3,/3-disubstituted vinylsilanes (Suzuki reaction eq 14). The same nucleophilic substituted vinylsilane can be added to an aromatic aldehyde to provide access to ( )-3-silyl allyl alcohols. ... 

Terminal alkynes are hydroborated in a regioselective, anti-Markovnikov fashion, the boron attacking the less hindered carbon. However, with borane itself, this reaction leads ultimately to sequential hydroboration of both tt bonds. To stop at the alkenylborane stage, bulky borane reagents, such as dicyclohexylborane, are used. 

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