Hydroboration reactions

One of the newer and more fmitful developments in this area is asymmetric hydroboration giving chiral organoboranes, which can be transformed into chiral carbon compounds of high optical purity. Other new directions focus on catalytic hydroboration, asymmetric aHylboration, cross-coupling reactions, and appHcations in biomedical research. This article gives an account of the most important aspects of the hydroboration reaction and transformations of its products. For more detail, monographs and reviews are available (1—13). 

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). 

Disubstituted Boranes. Even slight differences in stetic or electronic effects of substituents may have an effect on the hydroboration reaction course. These effects are well demonstrated in disubstituted boranes, and consequentiy a range of synthetically useful reagents has been developed. 

There have been several reviews of asymmetric synthesis via chiral organoboranes (6,8,378,382,467—472). Asymmetric induction in the hydroboration reaction may result from the chiraHty present in the olefin (asymmetric substrate), in the reagent (asymmetric hydroboration), or in the catalyst (catalytic asymmetric hydroboration). 

Boron Bromide. Approximately 30% of BBr produced in the United States is consumed in the manufacture of proprietory pharmaceuticals (qv) (7). BBr is used in the manufacture of isotopicaHy enriched crystalline boron, as a Etiedel-Crafts catalyst in various polymerization, alkylation, and acylation reactions, and in semiconductor doping and etching. Examples of use of BBr as a catalyst include copolymerization of butadiene with olefins (112) polymerization of ethylene and propylene (113), and A/-vinylcarbazole (114) in hydroboration reactions and in tritium labeling of steroids and aryl rings (5). 

Certain base adducts of borane, such as triethylamine borane [1722-26-5] (C2H )2N BH, dimethyl sulfide borane [13292-87-OJ, (CH2)2S BH, and tetrahydrofuran borane [14044-65-6] C HgO BH, are more easily and safely handled than B2H and are commercially available. These compounds find wide use as reducing agents and in hydroboration reactions (57). A wide variety of borane reducing agents and hydroborating agents is available from Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Base displacement reactions can be used to convert one adduct to another. The relative stabiUties of BH adducts as a function of Group 15 and 16 donor atoms are P > N and S > O. This order has sparked controversy because the trend opposes the normal order estabUshed by BF. In the case of anionic nucleophiles, base displacement leads to ionic hydroborate adducts (eqs. 20,21). 

In an analogous fashion to the hydroboration reaction, a variety of boron-containing substrates react with iminoboranes. Addition of X2B—Cl, X2B—N3, X2B—SR, X2B—NR2, and X2B—R to the unsaturated B—N system is called chloro-, azido-, thio-, amino-, and alkyloboration, respectively. The azidoboration and chloroboration of two iminoboranes are shown ia equations 23 and 24 (72). 

The alkylboranes obtained by the hydroboration reaction are versatile intermediates for further transformations. The most important transformation is the oxidation to yield alcohols 17 it is usually carried out by treatment with hydroperoxide in alkaline solution. The group R migrates from boron to oxygen with retention of configuration ... 

The procedures given below are typical of the variety of applications of the hydroboration reaction. 

Diborane reacts with unhindered olefins to form trialkylboranes (the so-called hydroboration reaction, cf. Chapter 4). In this Chapter, several of the recently discovered carbon-carbon bond forming reactions of trialkylboranes are presented. 

The reaction is sensitive to the presence of water, which inhibits the migration of the third alkyl group and leads to dialkyl ketones (see Chapter 12, Section II). The convenience of the hydroboration reaction combined with the use of carbon monoxide at atmospheric pressure provides the most accessible route to many trialkylcarbinols. 

An important stage in the synthesis has been reached. The reaction processes described thus far have proceeded uneventfully and have culminated in the synthesis of compound 9. The stage is now set for an evaluation of the first of two hydroboration reactions. Treatment of 9 with diborane in THF, followed by standard alkaline hydrogen peroxide workup, furnishes an 8 1 stereoisomeric mixture of alcohols in favor of 28 (85 % total yield). On the basis of some important precedent,32 it is presumed that compound 9 preferen-... 

The hydroboration reaction occurs stereospecifically, and the boron attacks from the less-hindered side of the molecule by normal cis addition, owing to the presence of the bulky benzyloxy group in the axial position. 

The electron delocalizing capability of a boron atom arising from its empty p-orbital positions it as an ideal candidate for incorporation in conjugated polymers for use in optical and sensing applications. The majority of the examples of boron-atom-containing conjugated polymers have been synthesized via the hydroboration reaction. However, other synthetic procedures have also been utilized. 

In the area of ion sensing, cation recognition by electrodes containing functionalized redox-active polymers has been an area of considerable interest. Fabre and co-workers have reported the development of a boronate-functionalized polypyrrole as a fluoride anion-responsive electroactive polymer film. The electropolymerizable polypyrrole precursor (11) (Fig. 11) was synthesized by the hydroboration reaction of l-(phenylsulfonyl)-3-vinylpyrrole with diisopinocampheylborane followed by treatment with pinacol and the deprotection of the pyrrole ring.33 The same methodology was utilized for the production of several electropolymerizable aromatic compounds (of pyrrole (12) (Fig. 11), thiophene (13 and 14) (Fig. 11), and aniline) bearing boronic acid and boronate substituents as precursors of fluoride- and/or chloride-responsive conjugated polymer.34... 

Grignard chemistry was used as an alternative to hydroboration reaction by the Chujo team in its search for new n-type conjugated polymers for utilization in polymer energy storage systems. By this route, the syntheses of 7r-conjugated poly(p-phenylene-boranes) (15)35 (Fig. 12) and poly(ethynylene-phenylene-ethynylene-borane)s were reported.36... 

Hydroboration reaction of the terminal double bond of polystyrene with thexyl-borane yielded a polymer bearing one organoboron unit at the center of the polymer... 

Hydroboration reactions are usually carried out in ether either in (C2H5)20, or in some higher molecular weight ether such as diglyme [(CH30CH2CH2)20, Methylene glycol di/nethyl ether]. 

A wide range of catalysts is now known that will bring about B H addition to simple terminal alkenes. For group 9 complexes, catalytic activity follows the order [(dppe)Rh (nbd)]+ > [Rh(PPh3)3Cl] > [(COD)Ir(PCy3)(C5H5N)]+ (where dppe = 2-bis(diphenylphosphino) ethane and nbd = norbornadiene).19 Different facial selectivity is found for catalytic hydroboration reactions of these compounds with chiral alkenes (Equation (1)). Thus, [(dppe)Rh(nbd)]+ gives... 

Professor Stone s paper points out that the reactivity of [ (ti-C5H5) (OC) 2WsCR] towards transition metal complexes is similar to that of an alkyne. It would be of interest to examine this compound and several of its derivatives which contain OW double bonds with respect to their reactivity patterns towards the BH3 group to determine if reactions analogous to the hydroboration reaction of alkynes and olefins would occur (1) or reactions similar to the attempted hydroboration described below would take place. 

Alkylideneamino)-butylboranes, the first known dimeric iminoboranes obtained from hydroboration reactions of nitriles 10 were prepared according to Eq. (9). 

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