Nickel-Catalyzed Decarbonylative Borylation of Amides: Evidence for Acyl C−N Bond Activation

Palladium(II)-Catalyzed Norbornene-Mediated Selective meta-C-H Silylation for the Synthesis of Arylsilanes from Primary Benzamides

A palladium(II)-catalyzed norbornene-mediated remote selective meta-C-H silylation of primary benzamides was developed for the synthesis of arylsilanes. Such a conversion provides access to a range of arylsilanes with exclusive selectivity using norbornene (NBE) as the meta-C-H activator. The amide directing group can be detached simultaneously through C-C bond cleavage or undergo a dehydration reaction pathway to form nitriles.

Decarbonylative borylation of aryl anhydrides via rhodium catalysis

Decarbonylative borylation of aryl anhydrides by rhodium catalysis has been reported. A base-free system with Rh(PPh3)3Cl as a catalyst enables the efficient synthesis of various arylboronate esters from readily available aryl anhydrides. The reaction involves the cleavage of C(O)-O bonds and the formation of C-B bonds. The experimental results demonstrated that compared with carboxylic acids, amides, and esters, anhydrides have higher reactivity in the decarbonylative borylation reaction under the current conditions. Furthermore, compared with the reported palladium-catalyzed borylation reaction of aryl anhydrides, the present rhodium-catalyzed method has the advantages of a shorter reaction time and a lower reaction temperature.

Carbon-Carbon Bond Cleavage for Late-Stage Functionalization

Late-stage functionalization (LSF) introduces functional group or structural modification at the final stage of the synthesis of natural products, drugs, and complex compounds. It is anticipated that late-stage functionalization would improve drug discovery's effectiveness and efficiency and hasten the creation of various chemical libraries. Consequently, late-stage functionalization of natural products is a productive technique to produce natural product derivatives, which significantly impacts chemical biology and drug development. Carbon-carbon bonds make up the fundamental framework of organic molecules. Compared with the carbon-carbon bond construction, the carbon-carbon bond activation can directly enable molecular editing (deletion, insertion, or modification of atoms or groups of atoms) and provide a more efficient and accurate synthetic strategy. However, the efficient and selective activation of unstrained carbon-carbon bonds is still one of the most challenging projects in organic synthesis. This review encompasses the strategies employed in recent years for carbon-carbon bond cleavage by explicitly focusing on their applicability in late-stage functionalization. This review expands the current discourse on carbon-carbon bond cleavage in late-stage functionalization reactions by providing a comprehensive overview of the selective cleavage of various types of carbon-carbon bonds. This includes C-C(sp), C-C(sp2), and C-C(sp3) single bonds; carbon-carbon double bonds; and carbon-carbon triple bonds, with a focus on catalysis by transition metals or organocatalysts. Additionally, specific topics, such as ring-opening processes involving carbon-carbon bond cleavage in three-, four-, five-, and six-membered rings, are discussed, and exemplar applications of these techniques are showcased in the context of complex bioactive molecules or drug discovery. This review aims to shed light on recent advancements in the field and propose potential avenues for future research in the realm of late-stage carbon-carbon bond functionalization.

Classes of Amides that Undergo Selective N-C Amide Bond Activation: The Emergence of Ground-State Destabilization

Ground-state destabilization of the N-C(O) linkage represents a powerful tool to functionalize the historically inert amide bond. This burgeoning reaction manifold relies on the availability of amide bond precursors that participate in weakening of the nN → π*C=O conjugation through N-C twisting, N pyramidalization, and nN electronic delocalization. Since 2015, acyl N-C amide bond activation through ground-state destabilization of the amide bond has been achieved by transition-metal-catalyzed oxidative addition of the N-C(O) bond, generation of acyl radicals, and transition-metal-free acyl addition. This Perspective summarizes contributions of our laboratory in the development of new ground-state-destabilized amide precursors enabled by twist and electronic activation of the amide bond and synthetic utility of ground-state-destabilized amides in cross-coupling reactions and acyl addition reactions. The use of ground-state-destabilized amides as electrophiles enables a plethora of previously unknown transformations of the amide bond, such as acyl coupling, decarbonylative coupling, radical coupling, and transition-metal-free coupling to forge new C-C, C-N, C-O, C-S, C-P, and C-B bonds. Structural studies of activated amides and catalytic systems developed in the past decade enable the view of the amide bond to change from the "traditionally inert" to "readily modifiable" functional group with a continuum of reactivity dictated by ground-state destabilization.

Distinguishing Competing Mechanistic Manifolds for C(acyl)-N Functionalization by a Ni/N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyst System

Carboxylic acid derivatives are appealing alternatives to organohalides as cross-coupling electrophiles for fine chemical synthesis due to their prevalence in biomass and bioactive small molecules as well as their ease of preparation and handling. Within this family, carboxamides comprise a versatile electrophile class for nickel-catalyzed coupling with carbon and heteroatom nucleophiles. However, even state-of-the-art C(acyl)-N functionalization and cross-coupling reactions typically require high catalyst loadings and specific substitution patterns. These challenges have proven difficult to overcome, in large part due to limited experimental mechanistic insight. In this work, we describe a detailed mechanistic case study of acylative coupling reactions catalyzed by the commonly employed Ni/SIPr catalyst system (SIPr = 1,3-bis(2,6-di-isopropylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroimidazol-2-ylidine). Stoichiometric organometallic studies, in situ spectroscopic measurements, and crossover experiments demonstrate the accessibility of Ni(0), Ni(I), and Ni(II) resting states. Although in situ precatalyst activation limits reaction efficiency, the low concentrations of active, SIPr-supported Ni(0) select for electrophile-first (closed-shell) over competing nucleophile-first (open-shell) mechanistic manifolds. We anticipate that the experimental insights into the nature and controlling features of these distinct pathways will accelerate rational improvements to cross-coupling methodologies involving pervasive carboxamide substrate motifs.

Skeletal metalation of lactams through a carbonyl-to-nickel-exchange logic

Classical metalation reactions such as the metal-halogen exchange have had a transformative impact on organic synthesis owing to their broad applicability in building carbon-carbon bonds from carbon-halogen bonds. Extending the metal-halogen exchange logic to a metal-carbon exchange would enable the direct modification of carbon frameworks with new implications in retrosynthetic analysis. However, such a transformation requires the selective cleavage of highly inert chemical bonds and formation of stable intermediates amenable to further synthetic elaborations, hence its development has remained considerably challenging. Here we introduce a skeletal metalation strategy that allows lactams, a prevalent motif in bioactive molecules, to be readily converted into well-defined, synthetically useful organonickel reagents. The reaction features a selective activation of unstrained amide C-N bonds mediated by an easily prepared Ni(0) reagent, followed by CO deinsertion and dissociation under mild room temperature conditions in a formal carbonyl-to-nickel-exchange process. The underlying principles of this unique reactivity are rationalized by organometallic and computational studies. The skeletal metalation is further applied to a direct CO excision reaction and a carbon isotope exchange reaction of lactams, underscoring the broad potential of metal-carbon exchange logic in organic synthesis.

Linker-Assisted CdS-TiO2 Nanohybrids as Reusable Visible Light Photocatalysts for the Oxidative Hydroxylation of Arylboronic Acids

A variety of phenols have been obtained in aqueous media with moderate to excellent chemical yields (≤100%) by using arylboronic acids and esters as substrates, a robust CdS-TiO₂ nanohybrid as a heterogeneous photocatalyst, visible light irradiation (467 nm), and an O₂-saturated atmosphere. The nanohybrid was prepared through a linker-assisted methodology that uses mercapto alkanoic acids as the organic linkers. The nanohybrid showed improved photocatalytic activity in the hydroxylation of substituted arylboronic acids and phenyl boronic esters compared with that of pristine CdS quantum dots. The nanohybrid can be reused in up to five photocatalytic cycles with ∼90% of its outstanding activity preserved.

Amide N-C Bond Activation: A Graphical Overview of Acyl and Decarbonylative Coupling

This Graphical Review provides an overview of amide bond activation achieved by selective oxidative addition of the N-C(O) acyl bond to transition metals and nucleophilic acyl addition, resulting in acyl and decarbonylative coupling together with key mechanistic details pertaining to amide bond distortion underlying this reactivity manifold.

Protoboration of Alkynes and Miyaura Borylation Catalyzed by Low Loadings of Palladium

The versions of Miyaura borylation and protoboration of alkynes catalyzed by low loadings of palladium (400 mol ppm = 0.04 mol %) have been developed. These transformations have a broad substrate scope, good functional-group compatibility, and gram-scale synthetic ability.

Ni-Catalyzed Reductive Fluoroalkylacylation of Alkynes for the Steroselective Synthesis of Fluoroalkylated Enones

A Ni-catalyzed three-component reductive fluoroalkylacylation of alkynes with fluoroalkyl halides and acyl chlorides is presented. This dicarbofunctionalization provides an efficient method for the synthesis of fluoroalkyl-incorporated enones under mild conditions with high yields and excellent regioselectivity and stereoselectivity.

Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Borylation of Enaminones via C(sp2)-N Bond Cleavage

The cleavage and transformation of alkenyl C(sp²)-N bonds is a significant synthetic challenge. Herein we described an unprecedented nickel-catalyzed reductive borylation of enaminones to synthesize β-ketone boronic esters. Notably, B₂pin₂ played the dual role in this process, and water served as a hydrogen source, which was transferred to target products. The air-stable nickel catalyst was applied to the cleavage of alkenyl C(sp²)-N bonds, concomitant with the reductive process of the alkenyl boronic ester intermediates, on the basis of the mechanism study.

Nickel-Catalyzed Decarbonylative Thioetherification of Carboxylic Acids with Thiols

A nickel-catalyzed decarbonylative thioetherification of carboxylic acids with thiols was developed. Under the reaction conditions, benzoic acids, cinnamic acids, and benzyl carboxylic acids coupled with various thiols including both aromatic and aliphatic ones produce the corresponding thioethers in up to 99% yields. Moreover, this reaction was applicable to the modification of bioactive molecules such as 3-methylflavone-8-carboxylic acid, probenecid, and flufenamic acid, and the synthesis of acaricide chlorbenside. These results well demonstrated the potential synthetic value of this new reaction in organic synthesis.

Electrophile-Dependent Reactivity of Lithiated N-Benzylpyrene-1-Carboxamide

In this paper, we describe the lithiation of N-benzylpyrene-1-carboxamide with RLi-TMEDA. We found that the reaction outcome strongly depends on the electrophile used in the quenching step. The electrophile can be introduced at either the benzylic position or at the C-2 position in the pyrene nucleus. Furthermore, when H⁺ was used as the quencher, the product of the intramolecular carbolithiation of the pyrene K-region was formed. Dehydrogenation of the obtained compound with DDQ allowed the synthesis of a novel nitrogen polycyclic compound with an aza-benzo[c,d]pyrene (azaolympicene) skeleton. Attempts to extend the reaction scope to the amides substituted in the phenyl ring 8a and 8b gave an unexpected result. The reaction of both compounds with BuLi gave 1-valerylpyrene (9) in good yield. Photophysical properties, including absorption spectra, emission spectra and quantum yields of the emission of selected products, were studied and discussed.

Ni-catalysed deamidative fluorination of amides with electrophilic fluorinating reagents

We describe here a Ni-catalysed deamidative fluorination of diverse amides with electrophilic fluorinating reagents. Different types of amides including aromatic amides and olefinic amides were well compatible, affording the corresponding acyl fluorides in good to excellent yields.

Catalysis with Diboron(4)/Pyridine: Application to the Broad-Scope [3 + 2] Cycloaddition of Cyclopropanes and Alkenes

In contrast to the extensive but non-recyclable use of tetraalkoxydiboron(4) compounds as stoichiometric reagents in diverse reactions, this article reports an atom-economical reaction using a commercial diboron(4) as the catalyst. The key to success was designing a catalytic cycle for radical [3 + 2] cycloaddition involving a pyridine cocatalyst to generate from the diboron(4) catalyst and reversibly mediate the transfer of boronyl radicals. In comparison with known [3 + 2] cycloaddition with transition metal-based catalysts, the current reaction features not only metal-free conditions, inexpensive and stable catalysts, and simple operation but also remarkably broadened substrate scope. In particular, previously unusable cyclopropyl ketones without an activating group and/or alkenes with 1,2-disubstitution and 1,1,2-trisubstitution patterns were successfully used for the first time. Consequently, challenging cyclopentane compounds with various levels of substitution (65 examples, 57 new products, up to six substituents at all five ring atoms) were readily prepared in generally high to excellent yield and diastereoselectivity. The reaction was also successfully applied in concise formal synthesis of an anti-obesity drug and building natural product-like complex bridged or spirocyclic compounds. Mechanistic experiments and computational investigation support the proposed radical relay catalysis featuring a pyridine-assisted boronyl radical catalyst. Overall, this work demonstrates the first approach to use tetraalkoxydiboron(4) compounds as catalysts and may lead to the development of new, green, and efficient transition metal-like boron-catalyzed organic reactions.

An Efficient and Straightforward Approach for Accessing Thioesters via Palladium-Catalyzed C-N Cleavage of Thioamides

We first report the coupling of activated thioamides with alcohols to efficiently form thioesters via palladium-catalyzed C-N cleavage strategy. The new approach employs the thioamides as thioacylating reagent to give...

Ru(dppbsa)-catalyzed hydrodeoxygenation and reductive etherification of ketones and aldehydes

Ru(dppbsa)-catalyzed hydrodeoxygenation and reductive etherification of ketones and aldehydes were developed. The carbonyl substrates without β-CH functionality follow the hydrogenation-hydrogenolysis path, wherein the hydrogenolysis of the alkanol intermediates presents as...

Transamidation and Decarbonylation of N-Phthaloyl-Amino Acid Amides Enabled by Palladium-Catalyzed Selective C-N Bond Cleavage

Amides are important functional synthons that have been widely used in the construction of peptides, natural products, and drugs. The C-N bond cleavage provides the direct method for amide conversion. However, amides, especially secondary amides, tend to be chemically inert due to the resonance of the amide bond. Here, we describe an efficient Pd-catalyzed transamidation and decarbonylation of multiamide structure molecules through C-N bond cleavage with excellent chemoselectivity. The transamidation of secondary amides and the decarbonylation of phthalimide provide meaningful tools for the modification of amino acid derivatives. Moreover, further transformations of azidation and C(sp³)-H monoarylation emphasized the potential utility of this selective C-N bond cleavage method.

First-Row d-Block Element-Catalyzed Carbon-Boron Bond Formation and Related Processes

Organoboron reagents represent a unique class of compounds because of their utility in modern synthetic organic chemistry, often affording unprecedented reactivity. The transformation of the carbon-boron bond into a carbon-X (X = C, N, and O) bond in a stereocontrolled fashion has become invaluable in medicinal chemistry, agrochemistry, and natural products chemistry as well as materials science. Over the past decade, first-row d-block transition metals have become increasingly widely used as catalysts for the formation of a carbon-boron bond, a transformation traditionally catalyzed by expensive precious metals. This recent focus on alternative transition metals has enabled growth in fundamental methods in organoboron chemistry. This review surveys the current state-of-the-art in the use of first-row d-block element-based catalysts for the formation of carbon-boron bonds.

Palladium-Catalyzed Decarbonylative Borylation of Aryl Anhydrides

A palladium-catalyzed base-free decarbonylative borylation of aryl anhydrides has been developed. Catalyst system consisting of Pd(OAc)₂/dppb enables readily available aryl anhydrides to be employed as electrophiles for the synthesis of versatile arylboronate esters via O-C(O) bond activation and decarbonylation. This method is characterized by an excellent functional group tolerance and broad substrate scope, using bench stable aryl anhydrides as aryl electrophiles in C-B bond formation. Mechanistic studies and functionalization of late-stage pharmaceutical molecules are disclosed.

Nickel-Catalyzed Selective Decarbonylation of α-Amino Acid Thioester: Aminomethylation of Mercaptans

The nickel-catalyzed aminomethylation of mercaptans has been disclosed that offers efficient and expedient access to synthesize α-aminosulfides. The intramolecular fragment coupling shows excellent chemoselectivity. This transformation shows good functional-group compatibility, tolerates a wide range of electron-withdrawing, electron-neutral, and electron-donating substituents in this process, and can serve as a powerful synthetic tool for the synthesis of α-aminosulfides at a gram scale. Thus, the newly developed methodology enables a facile route for C-S bond formation in a straightforward fashion.

Activation of Aryl Carboxylic Acids by Diboron Reagents towards Nickel-Catalyzed Direct Decarbonylative Borylation

The Ni-catalyzed decarbonylative borylation of (hetero)aryl carboxylic acids with B₂ cat₂ has been achieved without recourse to any additives. This Ni-catalyzed method exhibits a broad substrate scope covering poorly reactive non-ortho-substituted (hetero)aryl carboxylic acids, and tolerates diverse functional groups including some of the groups active to Ni⁰ catalysts. The key to achieve this decarbonylative borylation reaction is the choice of B₂ cat₂ as a coupling partner that not only acts as a borylating reagent, but also chemoselectively activates aryl carboxylic acids towards oxidative addition of their C(acyl)-O bond to Ni⁰ catalyst via the formation of acyloxyboron compounds. A combination of experimental and computational studies reveals a detailed plausible mechanism for this reaction system, which involves a hitherto unknown concerted decarbonylation and reductive elimination step that generates the aryl boronic ester product. This mode of boron-promoted carboxylic acid activation is also applicable to other types of reactions.

Ni-Catalyzed Borylation of Aryl Sulfoxides

A nickel/N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalytic system has been developed for the borylation of aryl sulfoxides with B2 (neop)2 (neop=neopentyl glycolato). A wide range of aryl sulfoxides with different electronic and steric properties were converted into the corresponding arylboronic esters in good yields. The regioselective borylation of unsymmetric diaryl sulfoxides was also feasible leading to borylation of the sterically less encumbered aryl substituent. Competition experiments demonstrated that an electron-deficient aryl moiety reacts preferentially. The origin of the selectivity in the Ni-catalyzed borylation of electronically biased unsymmetrical diaryl sulfoxide lies in the oxidative addition step of the catalytic cycle, as oxidative addition of methoxyphenyl 4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl sulfoxide to the Ni(0) complex occurs selectively to give the structurally characterized complex trans-[Ni(ICy)2 (4-CF3 -C6 H4 ){(SO)-4-MeO-C6 H4 }] 4. For complex 5, the isomer trans-[Ni(ICy)2 (C6 H5 )(OSC6 H5 )] 5-I was structurally characterized in which the phenyl sulfinyl ligand is bound via the oxygen atom to nickel. In solution, the complex trans-[Ni(ICy)2 (C6 H5 )(OSC6 H5 )] 5-I is in equilibrium with the S-bonded isomer trans-[Ni(ICy)2 (C6 H5 )(SOC6 H5 )] 5, as shown by NMR spectroscopy. DFT calculations reveal that these isomers are separated by a mere 0.3 kJ/mol (M06/def2-TZVP-level of theory) and connected via a transition state trans-[Ni(ICy)2 (C6 H5 )(η2 -{SO}-C6 H5 )], which lies only 10.8 kcal/mol above 5.

Copper-Mediated Dichotomic Borylation of Alkyne Carbonates: Stereoselective Access to (E)-1,2-Diborylated 1,3-Dienes versus Traceless Monoborylation Affording α-Hydroxyallenes

A mild copper-mediated protocol has been developed for borylation of alkynyl cyclic carbonates. Depending on the nature of the borylating reaction partner, either stereoselective diborylation of the propargylic surrogate takes place, providing convenient access to (E)-1,2-borylated 1,3-dienes, or traceless monoborylation occurs, which leads to α-hydroxyallenes as the principal product. The dichotomy in this borylation protocol has been scrutinized by several control experiments, illustrating that a relatively small change in the diboron(4) reagent allows for competitive alcohol-assisted protodemetalation to forge an α-hydroxyallene product under ambient conditions.

Nickel-Catalyzed Amination of Aryl Chlorides with Amides

A nickel-catalyzed amination of aryl chlorides with diverse amides via C-N bond cleavage has been realized under mild conditions. A broad substrate scope with excellent functional group tolerance at a low catalyst loading makes the protocol powerful for synthesizing various aromatic amines. The aryl chlorides could selectively couple to the amino fragments rather than the carbonyl moieties of amides. Our protocol complements the conventional amination of aryl chlorides and expands the usage of inactive amides.

Reductive Arylation of Amides via a Nickel-Catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura-Coupling and Transfer-Hydrogenation Cascade

We report a means to achieve the addition of two disparate nucleophiles to the amide carbonyl carbon in a single operational step. Our method takes advantage of non-precious-metal catalysis and allows for the facile conversion of amides to chiral alcohols via a one-pot Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling/transfer-hydrogenation process. This study is anticipated to promote the development of new transformations that allow for the conversion of carboxylic acid derivatives to functional groups bearing stereogenic centers via cascade processes.

Rhodium-catalysed selective C-C bond activation and borylation of cyclopropanes

Transition metal (TM)-catalysed directed hydroboration of aliphatic internal olefins which facilitates the construction of complex alkylboronates is an essential synthetic methodology. Here, an efficient method for the borylation of cyclopropanes involving TM-catalysed directed C-C activation has been developed. Upon exposure to neutral Rh(i)-catalyst systems, N-Piv-substituted cyclopropylamines (CPAs) undergo proximal-selective hydroboration with HBpin to provide valuable γ-amino boronates in one step which are otherwise difficult to synthesize by known methods. The enantioenriched substrates can deliver chiral products without erosion of the enantioselectivities. Versatile synthetic utility of the obtained γ-amino boronates is also demonstrated. Experimental and computational mechanistic studies showed the preferred pathway and the origin of this selectivity. This study will enable the further use of CPAs as valuable building blocks for the tunable generation of C-heteroatom or C-C bonds through selective C-C bond activation.

Copper-catalyzed boroacylation of allenes to access tetrasubstituted vinylboronates

A distinct copper-catalyzed boroacylation of allenes with acyl chlorides and bis(pinacolato)diboron is developed. For aromatic acyl chlorides, 1,2-boroacylation of allenes readily takes place, leading to the formation of tetrasubstituted vinylboronates with exclusive (E)-stereoselectivity. In comparison, the employment of alkyl acyl chlorides as electrophiles alters the selectivity to 2,3-boroacylated products. Additionally, the product can easily undergo Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling to afford tetrasubstituted alkene with complete retention of the configuration.

Rh-Catalyzed Base-Free Decarbonylative Borylation of Twisted Amides

We report the rhodium-catalyzed base-free decarbonylative borylation of twisted amides. The synthesis of versatile arylboronate esters from aryl twisted amides is achieved via decarbonylative rhodium(I) catalysis and highly selective N-C(O) insertion. The method is notable for a very practical, additive-free Rh(I) catalyst system. The method shows broad functional group tolerance and excellent substrate scope, including site-selective decarbonylative borylation/Heck cross-coupling via divergent N-C/C-Br cleavage and late-stage pharmaceutical borylation.

C(sp3)–H Bond Acylation with N-Acyl Imides under Photoredox/ Nickel Dual Catalysis

A novel Ni/photoredox-catalyzed acylation of aliphatic substrates, including simple alkanes and dialkyl ethers, has been developed. The method combines C–N bond activation of amides with a radical relay mechanism involving hydrogen-atom transfer. The protocol is operationally simple, employs bench-stable N-acyl imides as acyl-transfer reagents, and permits facile access to alkyl ketones under very mild conditions.

Nickel(II)-Catalyzed Borylation of Alkenyl Methyl Ethers via C-O Bond Cleavage

A new protocol has been developed for the borylation of conjugated alkenyl methyl ethers using B₂Pin₂ via C-O bond cleavage catalyzed by Ni(II). In this cross-coupling reaction, both E/Z isomers of alkenyl ethers are converted into (E)-alkenyl boronic esters with good reactivity. This transformation exhibits high chemoselectivity in the presence of competitive C-O bonds such as aryl ether, ester, amide, and thioether groups, thus providing a new method for the construction of various alkenyl boronates.

Transformations of Aryl Ketones via Ligand-Promoted C-C Bond Activation

The coupling of aromatic electrophiles (aryl halides, aryl ethers, aryl acids, aryl nitriles etc.) with nucleophiles is a core methodology for the synthesis of aryl compounds. Transformations of aryl ketones in an analogous manner via carbon-carbon bond activation could greatly expand the toolbox for the synthesis of aryl compounds due to the abundance of aryl ketones. An exploratory study of this approach is typically based on carbon-carbon cleavage triggered by ring-strain release and chelation assistance, and the products are also limited to a specific structural motif. Here we report a ligand-promoted β-carbon elimination strategy to activate the carbon-carbon bonds, which results in a range of transformations of aryl ketones, leading to useful aryl borates, and also to biaryls, aryl nitriles, and aryl alkenes. The use of a pyridine-oxazoline ligand is crucial for this catalytic transformation. A gram-scale borylation reaction of an aryl ketone via a simple one-pot operation is reported. The potential utility of this strategy is also demonstrated by the late-stage diversification of drug molecules probenecid, adapalene, and desoxyestrone, the fragrance tonalid as well as the natural product apocynin.