Organoboron catalysts

Palladium-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond forming reactions like the Suzuki reac-tion as well as the Heck reaction and the Stille reaction, have in recent years gained increased importance in synthetic organic chemistry. In case of the Suzuki reaction, an organoboron compound—usually a boronic acid—is reacted with an aryl (or alkenyl, or alkynyl) halide in the presence of a palladium catalyst. 

In all these reactions, the acylating reagent reacts with the active Pd(0) catalyst to give an acyl Pd(II) intermediate. Transmetallation by the organoboron derivative and reductive elimination generate the ketone. 

Nitroalkenes are good candidates for the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric 1,4-addition of organoboronic acids. Hayashi et al. reported that the reaction of 1-nitrocyclohexene with phenylboronic acid in the presence of rhodium/ -BINAP catalyst gave 99% ee of 2-phenyl-1-nitrocyclohexane (Scheme 38).117... 

The overall mechanism is closely related to that of the other cross-coupling methods. The aryl halide or triflate reacts with the Pd(0) catalyst by oxidative addition. The organoboron compound serves as the source of the second organic group by transmetala-tion. The disubstituted Pd(II) intermediate then undergoes reductive elimination. It appears that either the oxidative addition or the transmetalation can be rate-determining, depending on reaction conditions.134 With boronic acids as reactants, base catalysis is normally required and is believed to involve the formation of the more reactive boronate anion.135... 

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