Facile Synthesis of α-Boryl-Substituted Allylboronate Esters Using Stable Bis[(pinacolato)boryl]methylzinc Reagents

Strain-release enables access to carbonyl conjugated allylic diborons and alkenyl boronates having multiple contiguous stereocenters in a one-pot process

Allylic diboronates are highly valuable reagents in organic synthesis. Existing methods predominantly yield alkyl-substituted allylic diboronates, while the incorporation of electrophilic carbonyl groups conjugated to these allylic systems remains unknown. We present a strain-release promoted cycloaddition-based strategy that enabled access to unprecedented carbonyl conjugated secondary allylic diborons. This mild base-free method also facilitated a one-pot multicomponent cycloaddition-allylboration sequence for a highly diastereoselective installation of contiguous quaternary, tertiary and secondary carbon centers on a scaffold featuring valuable β-hydroxy ester, β-vinyl ester and vinyl boronate motifs. The synthetic utility of these densely functionalized products was demonstrated through their transformation into other rare and sterically congested alkenylborons such as borylated spiro-fused β-lactones and bicyclic γ-butyrolactones. Detailed 11B NMR, deuterium labeling and mass spectrometry studies provided insights on an unexpected base-free deboronative allylic shift reaction of conjugated allylic diboronates.

Stereo- and Enantioselective Syntheses of 1,2-Oxaborinan-3-enes and δ-Boryl-Substituted Homoallylic Alcohols

Stereo- and enantioselective syntheses of 1,2-oxaborinan-3-enes and δ-boryl-substituted homoallylic alcohols are reported. We developed a practical approach to synthesize α-boryl-substituted allylboronate. This reagent was utilized to generate α,α-disubstituted allylboronates, and such reagents cannot be accessed via the Pd-catalyzed alkene isomerization approach. Chiral Brønsted-acid-catalyzed aldehyde addition with these reagents gave 1,2-oxaborinan-3-enes with excellent stereo- and enantioselectivities. Lewis-acid-catalyzed aldehyde addition also worked well, affording δ-boryl-substituted homoallylic alcohols with high stereoselectivities. The enantioselective variant of the reaction was achieved via a chiral Brønsted-acid-catalyzed aldehyde addition and Pd-catalyzed alkene isomerization approach.

Synthesis of α-Boryl-α-Substituted Allylboronates from Propyne

A novel method for the two-step synthesis of α-boryl-α-substituted allylboronates from propyne is described. These allylboronates are prepared by the Co-catalyzed 1,1-diboration reaction of propyne with B2pin2, followed by the base-mediated alkylation reaction of 1,1-di(boryl)propene at the α-position. Computational studies revealed the origins of observed reactivity and selectivity in the base-mediated alkylation reaction. The resulting α-boryl-α-methyl-allylboronate is applied to the allylation of aldehydes, which gives homoallylic alcohols with a trisubstituted alkene moiety.

Axially chiral α-boryl-homoallenyl boronic esters as versatile toolbox for accessing centrally and axially chiral molecules

Axially chiral allenes bearing organoboron groups are highly sought-after building blocks in organic synthesis due to their potential for generating a wide range of axially and centrally chiral molecules. However, the existing methods for preparing axially chiral allenes containing boron group are primarily limited to the synthesis of allenyl boronic esters, and strategies for accessing axially chiral homoallenyl boronic esters are still scarce. Here, we report the general method for synthesizing axially chiral α-boryl-homoallenyl boronic esters through a highly regio- and stereoselective copper-mediated SN2'-addition of newly prepared (diborylalkyl)copper species to chiral propargyl electrophiles. The reaction conditions were optimized to achieve high yields and excellent stereospecificity. The obtained products were successfully transformed into various axially chiral allenes and other chiral molecules by transforming diboron units. The potential for axial-to-central chirality transfer of axially chiral α-boryl-homoallenyl boronic esters is also demonstrated through the stereospecific addition to aldehydes and N-H aldimines, yielding enantioenriched 1,2-oxaborinin-3,5-dienes and 2-aminomethyl-1,3-dienes.

Recent Progress in Synthetic Applications of Hypervalent Iodine(III) Reagents

Hypervalent iodine(III) compounds have found wide application in modern organic chemistry as environmentally friendly reagents and catalysts. Hypervalent iodine reagents are commonly used in synthetically important halogenations, oxidations, aminations, heterocyclizations, and various oxidative functionalizations of organic substrates. Iodonium salts are important arylating reagents, while iodonium ylides and imides are excellent carbene and nitrene precursors. Various derivatives of benziodoxoles, such as azidobenziodoxoles, trifluoromethylbenziodoxoles, alkynylbenziodoxoles, and alkenylbenziodoxoles have found wide application as group transfer reagents in the presence of transition metal catalysts, under metal-free conditions, or using photocatalysts under photoirradiation conditions. Development of hypervalent iodine catalytic systems and discovery of highly enantioselective reactions using chiral hypervalent iodine compounds represent a particularly important recent achievement in the field of hypervalent iodine chemistry. Chemical transformations promoted by hypervalent iodine in many cases are unique and cannot be performed by using any other common, non-iodine-based reagent. This review covers literature published mainly in the last 7-8 years, between 2016 and 2024.

The current utility and future potential of multiborylated alkanes

Organoboron chemistry has become a cornerstone of modern synthetic methodology. Most of these reactions use an organoboron starting material that contains just one C(sp2)-B or C(sp3)-B bond; however, there has been a recent and accelerating trend to prepare multiborylated alkanes that possess two or more C(sp3)-B bonds. This is despite a lack of general reactivity, meaning many of these compounds currently offer limited downstream synthetic value. This Review summarizes recent advances in the exploration of multiborylated alkanes, including a discussion on how these products may be elaborated in further synthetic manipulations.

Photoredox/Cu-Catalyzed Decarboxylative C(sp3)-C(sp3) Coupling to Access C(sp3)-Rich gem-Diborylalkanes

gem-Diborylalkanes are highly valuable building blocks in organic synthesis and pharmaceutical chemistry due to their ability to participate in multi-step cross-coupling transformations, allowing for the rapid generation of molecular complexity. While progress has been made in their synthetic metholodology, the construction of β-tertiary and C(sp3)-rich gem-diborylalkanes remains a synthetic challenge due to substrate limitations and steric hindrance issues. An approach is presented that utilizes synergistic photoredox and copper catalysis to achieve efficient C(sp3)-C(sp3) cross-coupling of alkyl N-hydroxyphthalimide esters, which can easily be obtained from alkyl carboxylic acids, with diborylmethyl species, providing a series of C(sp3)-rich gem-diborylalkanes with 1°, 2°, and even 3° β positions. Furthermore, this approach can also be applied to complex medicinal compounds and natural products, offering rapid access to molecular complexity and late-stage functionalization of C(sp3)-rich drug candidates. Mechanistic experiments revealed that diborylmethyl Cu(I) species participated in both the photoredox process and the key C(sp3)-C(sp3) bond-forming step.

A General Method to Access Sterically Encumbered Geminal Bis(boronates) via Formal Umpolung Transformation of Terminal Diboron Compounds

General methods for the preparation of geminal bis(boronates) are of great interest due to their widespread applications in organic synthesis. While the terminal gem-diboron compounds are readily accessible, the construction of the sterically encumbered, internal analogues has remained a prominent challenge. Herein, we report a formal umpolung strategy to access these valuable building blocks. The readily available 1,1-diborylalkanes were first converted into the corresponding α-halogenated derivatives, which then serve as electrophilic components, undergoing a formal substitution with a diverse array of nucleophiles to form a series of C-C, C-O, C-S, and C-N bonds. This protocol features good tolerance to steric hindrance and a wide variety of functional groups and heterocycles. Notably, this strategy can also be extended to the synthesis of diaryl and terminal gem-diboron compounds, therefore providing a general approach to various types of geminal bis(boronates).

Highly Stereoselective Syntheses of α,α-Disubstituted (E)- and (Z)-Crotylboronates

We report herein stereoselective syntheses of α,α-disubstituted (E)- and (Z)-crotylboronates. Starting from α-boryl (E)- or (Z)-crotylboronate, base-mediated alkylation occurred exclusively at the position α to the boryl groups to give targeted boronates while retaining the geometries of the alkenes in the starting crotylboronates. Under proper conditions, the resulting α,α-disubstituted crotylboronates underwent aldehyde addition to give allylated products with high stereoselectivities.

Updated Progress of the Copper-Catalyzed Borylative Functionalization of Unsaturated Molecules

Borylation has become a powerful method to synthesize organoboranes as versatile building blocks in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and materials science. Copper-promoted borylation reactions are extremely attractive due to the low cost and non-toxicity of the copper catalyst, mild reaction conditions, good functional group tolerance, and convenience in chiral induction. In this review, we mainly updated recent advances (from 2020 to 2022) in the synthetic transformations in C=C/C≡C multiple bonds, and C=E multiple bonds mediated by copper boryl systems.

Highly stereoselective syntheses of (E)-δ-boryl-anti-homoallylic alcohols via allylation with α-boryl-(E)-crotylboronate

A highly stereoselective synthesis of (E)-δ-boryl-anti-homoallylic alcohols is developed. In the presence of a Lewis acid, aldehyde allylation with α-boryl-(E)-crotylboronate gave δ-boryl-anti-homoallylic alcohols in good yields with excellent E-selectivity. The E-vinylboronate group in the products provides a useful handle for cross-coupling reactions as illustrated in the fragment synthesis of chaxamycins.

Stereo- and Enantioselective Synthesis of Propionate-Derived Trisubstituted Alkene Motifs

We report a new method for constructing propionate-derived trisubstituted alkene motifs in a stereoselective manner. 1-Substituted 1,1-di(pinacolatoboryl)-(E)-alk-2-enes are generated in situ from 1-substituted 1,1-di(pinacolatoboryl)alk-3-enes through ruthenium(II)-catalyzed double-bond transposition. These species undergo a chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed allylation reaction of aldehydes to produce the E isomers of anti-homoallylic alcohols. On the other hand, the corresponding Z isomers of anti-homoallylic alcohols are obtained when a dimeric palladium(I) complex is employed as the catalyst for this double-bond transposition. Thus, both E and Z isomers can be synthesized from the same starting materials. A B-C(sp² ) bond remaining with the allylation product undergoes the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction to furnish a propionate-derived trisubstituted alkene motif in a stereo-defined form. The present method to construct the motifs with (E)- and (Z)-alkenes are successfully applied to the syntheses of (+)-isotrichostatic acid, (-)-isotrichostatin RK, and (+)-trichostatic acid, respectively.

Enantioselective Syntheses of (Z)-6'-Boryl-anti-1,2-oxaborinan-3-enes via a Dienylboronate Protoboration and Asymmetric Allylation Reaction Sequence

The enantioselective synthesis of 6'-boryl-anti-1,2-oxaborinan-3-enes is reported. A Cu-catalyzed highly stereoselective 1,4-protoboration of 1,1-bisboryl-1,3-butadiene is developed to generate (E)-α,δ-bisboryl-crotylboronate. The chiral phosphoric-acid-catalyzed asymmetric allylboration of aldehydes with the boron reagent produces 6'-boryl-anti-1,2-oxaborinan-3-enes with excellent Z-selectivities and enantioselectivities. The product contains a vinyl and alkyl boronate unit that can directly participate in a variety of subsequent transformations.

Synthesis of Quaternary Carbon Stereogenic Centers by Diastereoselective Conjugate Addition of Boron-Stabilized Allylic Nucleophiles to Enones

A method for the site-selective and diastereoselective conjugate addition of boron-stabilized allylic nucleophiles to α,β-unsaturated ketones is disclosed. Transformations involve easily prepared γ,γ-disubstituted allyldiboron reagents and proceed in the presence of a fluoride activator at 80 °C. Reactions proceed with a wide variety of enones and allyldiboron reagents efficiently to deliver ketone products that contain otherwise difficult-to-access vicinal β-tertiary and γ-quaternary carbon stereogenic centers and an alkenylboron moiety. The utility of the method is highlighted by several transformations, including cross-coupling and carbocyclizations.