Structural Studies of Bis-Catecholate, Bis-Dithiocatecholate, and Tetraalkoxy Diborane(4) Compounds

From Carbene-Dithiolene Zwitterion Mediated B-H Bond Activation to BH3·SMe2-Assisted Boron-Boron Bond Formation

The 1:1 reaction of the carbene-stabilized dithiolene zwitterion 1 with BH3·SMe2 gave the dithiolene-based hydroborane 2 and the doubly hydrogen-capped CAAC species 3 via hydride-coupled reverse electron transfer processes. The mechanism of this transformation was probed computationally using density functional theory. The subsequent 2:1 reaction of 2 with 1 resulted in 4 and 3, suggesting that 1 can mediate the B-H bond activation not only for BH3 but also for monohydroboranes. In the presence of BH3·SMe2, 2 was unexpectedly converted to the corresponding diborane(4) complex 5 through a dehydrocoupling reaction at an elevated temperature.

On the Reactivity of a NHC Nickel Bis-Boryl Complex: Reductive Elimination and Formation of Mono-Boryl Complexes

The synthesis of the first terminal mono-boryl complexes of nickel, which are not stabilized by a pincer ligand, is reported. The reaction of the nickel bis-boryl complex cis-[Ni(i Pr2 ImMe )2 (Bcat)2 ] 1 (cat=1,2-O2 C6 H4 ) with the small donor ligand PMe3 led to a complete ligand exchange at nickel with reductive elimination of B2 cat2 and formation of the bis-NHC adduct [B2 cat2  ⋅ (i Pr2 ImMe )2 ] 3 and [Ni(PMe3 )4 ] 2 as the metal-containing species. Electrophilic attack of MeI on complex 1 or ligand dismutation of 1 with trans-[Ni(i Pr2 ImMe )2 Br2 ] led to loss of only one boryl ligand of 1 and afforded the nickel mono-boryl complexes trans-[Ni(i Pr2 ImMe )2 (Bcat)Br] 4 a and trans-[Ni(i Pr2 ImMe )2 (Bcat)I] 4 b.

Nickel boryl complexes and nickel-catalyzed alkyne borylation

The first nickel bis-boryl complexes cis-[Ni( ⁱ Pr₂Im^Me)₂(Bcat)₂], cis-[Ni( ⁱ Pr₂Im^Me)₂(Bpin)₂] and cis-[Ni( ⁱ Pr₂Im^Me)₂(Beg)₂] are reported, which were prepared via the reaction of a source of [Ni( ⁱ Pr₂Im^Me)₂] with the diboron(4) compounds B₂cat₂, B₂pin₂ and B₂eg₂ ( ⁱ Pr₂Im^Me = 1,3-di-iso-propyl-4,5-dimethylimidazolin-2-ylidene; B₂cat₂ = bis(catecholato)diboron; B₂pin₂ = bis(pinacolato)diboron; B₂eg₂ = bis(ethylene glycolato)diboron). X-ray diffraction and DFT calculations strongly suggest that a delocalized, multicenter bonding scheme dictates the bonding situation of the NiB₂ moiety in these square planar complexes, reminiscent of the bonding situation of "non-classical" H₂ complexes. [Ni( ⁱ Pr₂Im^Me)₂] also efficiently catalyzes the diboration of alkynes using B₂cat₂ as the boron source under mild conditions. In contrast to the known platinum-catalyzed diboration, the nickel system follows a different mechanistic pathway, which not only provides the 1,2-borylation product in excellent yields, but also provides an efficient approach to other products such as C-C coupled borylation products or rare tetra-borylated compounds. The mechanism of the nickel-catalyzed alkyne borylation was examined by means of stoichiometric reactions and DFT calculations. Oxidative addition of the diboron reagent to nickel is not dominant; the first steps of the catalytic cycle are coordination of the alkyne to [Ni( ⁱ Pr₂Im^Me)₂] and subsequent borylation at the coordinated and, thus, activated alkyne to yield complexes of the type [Ni(NHC)₂(η²-cis-(Bcat)(R)C[double bond, length as m-dash]C(R)(Bcat))], exemplified by the isolation and structural characterization of [Ni( ⁱ Pr₂Im^Me)₂(η²-cis-(Bcat)(Me)C[double bond, length as m-dash]C(Me)(Bcat))] and [Ni( ⁱ Pr₂Im^Me)₂(η²-cis-(Bcat)(H₇C₃)C[double bond, length as m-dash]C(C₃H₇)(Bcat))].

Ligand properties of boryl ligands in bis-boryl rhodium(III) complexes: a case study

The oxidative addition of five diborane(4) derivatives, symmetrical and unsymmetrical, to [Rh(PMe₃)₃Cl] was studied. Only for the more electron poor diboron derivatives, B₂cat₂, B₂pin₂ and catB-Bpin the resulting octahedral bis-boryl complexes [(PMe₃)₃Rh(boryl)₂Cl] were obtained, while for the more electron rich congeners only the equilibrium oxidative addition (catB-Bdmab) or no significant reaction (pinB-Bdmab) was observed (pin = (OCMe₂)₂, cat = 1,2-O₂C₆H₄, dmab = 1,2-(NMe)₂C₆H₄). By abstraction of the chlorido ligand with NaBArF (BArF = tetrakis-[3,5-bis-(trifluormethyl)-phenyl]-borat) in the presence of a neutral ligand (L = PMe₃, MeCN, MeNC) the corresponding cationic octahedral complexes [(PMe₃)₃Rh(boryl)₂L]⁺ were obtained. All isolated complexes were fully characterised including single crystal X-ray diffraction and heteronuclear, temperature dependent NMR spectroscopy. Whilst the complexes [(PMe₃)₃Rh(boryl)₂Cl] and [(PMe₃)₃Rh(boryl)₂L]⁺ show many similarities, their detailed structural and spectroscopic properties depend crucially on the properties of both boryl ligands.

Base-Mediated Radical Borylation of Alkyl Sulfones

A practical and direct method was developed for the production of versatile alkyl boronate esters via transition metal-free borylation of primary and secondary alkyl sulfones. The key to the success of the strategy is the use of bis(neopentyl glycolato) diboron (B2 neop2 ), with a stoichiometric amount of base as a promoter. The practicality and industrial potential of this protocol are highlighted by its wide functional group tolerance, the late-stage modification of complex compounds, no need for further transesterification, and operational simplicity. Radical clock, radical trap experiments, and EPR studies were conducted which show that the borylation process involves radical intermediates.

Synthesis and hydrogenation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-substituted diborenes via uncatalysed hydrogenative B–C bond cleavage

In contrast to classical B–B bond-centred diborene hydrogenation, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-substituted diborenes first undergo thermal intramolecular hydroarylation, followed by hydrogenation of the remaining B–B and endocyclic B–C bonds.

Revealing the electronic properties of the B-B bond: the bis-catecholato diboron molecule

The electronic properties of a diboron molecule, namely bis(catecholato)diboron (2-(1,3,2-benzodioxaborol-2-yl)-1,3,2-benzodioxaborole) (B₂Cat₂), have been studied by comparing the results of photoemission (XPS) and near edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (NEXAFS) experiments with the outcome of DFT calculations. The B 1s, C 1s and O 1s K-edges have been investigated for both the isolated gas phase molecule and the adsorbed one on the Au(111) surface. The main features of the polarized NEXAFS spectra at each of the three edges considered are not significantly affected by the presence of the substrate, with respect to the isolated molecule, indicating that the molecule-gold interaction is weak. Moreover, the comparison between the observed dichroism in the NEXAFS spectra of the adsorbed B₂Cat₂ and that in the NEXAFS spectra of the isolated molecule has confirmed the orbital symmetry assigned in the gas phase absorption spectra. The transitions to π(B-B) bonding and π*(B-B) anti-bonding final states represent the most relevant probe of the chemistry of the B₂Cat₂ molecule. We show that their theoretical description requires that the treatment of the relaxation changes among different excited state configurations, which we successfully implemented by using ΔSCF-DFT (ΔSCF) calculations.

Stability and decomposition of copper(i) boryl complexes: [(IDipp)Cu–Bneop], [(IDipp*)Cu–Bneop] and copper clusters

Synthesis and characterisation of NHC copper boryl complexes [(NHC)Cu–Bneop] and their decomposition to low-valent copper clusters.

Boronic, diboronic and boric acid esters of 1,8-naphthalenediol - synthesis, structure and formation of boronium salts

The 1,8-naphthalenediolate [1,8-O2C10H8] supported boronic and boric acid esters of general formula X-B(1,8-O2C10H8), where X = C6H5 (1a), C6F5 (2a), 3,4,5-F3-C6H2 (3a), 2,4,6-F3-C6H2 (4a), 2,6-F2-C6H3 (5a), 2,6-Cl2-C6H3 (6a), 2,4,6-Me3-C6H2 (7a), 2,6-(MeO)3-C6H3 (8a), Bun (9a), MeO (10a), OH (11a) and Cl (13a), were synthesized, NMR spectroscopically characterized, and the solid-state structures of 1a-5a, 8a and 10a determined by X-ray crystallography. The acceptor numbers of 1a-7a and 13a were determined and found to be similar to their catecholate analogues, R-Bcat, indicating similar Lewis acidities of these two classes of boronic acid esters. The reaction of B2(NMe2)4 with 1,8-naphthalenediol, followed by addition of HCl furnished the diboronic acid ester B2(1,8-O2C10H8)4 (16a) in ca. 70% yield. Cl-B(1,8-O2C10H8) (13a) was shown to react with O[double bond, length as m-dash]PEt3, DMAP, 1,10-phenanthroline and 2,2'-bipyridine, resp., to give the boronium salts [(Et3P[double bond, length as m-dash]O)2B(1,8-O2C10H8)]Cl (18a), [(DMAP)2B(1,8-O2C10H8)]Cl (22a), [(2,2'-bipyridine)B(1,8-O2C10H8)]Cl (23a) and [(1,10-phenanthroline)B(1,8-O2C10H8)]Cl (24a), which were characterized by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography.

Synthesis, characterization and photophysical studies of a novel polycyclic diborane

A long polycyclic diborane (4) with a dihedral angle of 21.75° between the two naphthalene rings has been successfully prepared and fully characterized.

B-B bond activation and NHC ring-expansion reactions of diboron(4) compounds, and accurate molecular structures of B2(NMe2)4, B2eg2, B2neop2 and B2pin2

In this detailed study we report on the structures of the widely employed diboron(4) compounds bis(pinacolato)diboron (B₂pin₂) and bis(neopentyl glycolato)diboron (B₂neop₂), as well as bis(ethylene glycolato)diboron (B₂eg₂) and tetrakis(dimethylamino)diboron (B₂(NMe₂)₄), and their reactivity, along with that of bis(catecholato)diboron (B₂cat₂) with backbone saturated and backbone unsaturared N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) of different steric demand. Depending on the nature of the diboron(4) compound and the NHC used, Lewis-acid/Lewis-base adducts or NHC ring-expansion products stemming from B-B and C-N bond activation have been observed. The corresponding NHC adducts and NHC ring-expanded products were isolated and characterised via solid-state and solution NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. In general, we observed B-B bond and C-N bond activation at low temperature for B₂eg₂, at room temperature for B₂neop₂ and at higher temperature for B₂cat₂. The reactivity strongly depends on steric effects of the NHCs and the diboron(4) compounds, as well as on the corresponding Lewis-basicity and Lewis-acidity. Our results provide profound insight into the chemistry of these diboron(4) reagents with the nowadays ubiquitous NHCs, the stability of the corresponding NHC adducts and on B-B bond activation using Lewis-bases in general. We demonstrate that B-B bond activation may be triggered even at temperatures as low as -40 °C to -30 °C without any metal species involved. For example, the reactions of B₂eg₂ with sterically less demanding NHCs such as Me₂Im^Me and iPr₂Im in solution led to the corresponding ring-expanded products at low temperatures. Furthermore, boronium [L₂B(OR)₂]⁺ and borenium [LB(OR)₂]⁺ cations have been observed from the reaction of the bis-borate B₂eg₃ with the NHCs iPr₂Im and Me₂Im^Me, which led to the conclusion that the activation of bis-borates with NHCs (or Lewis-bases in general) might be a facile and simple route to access such species.

Reactivity of highly Lewis acidic diborane(4) towards pyridine and isocyanide: formation of boraalkene-pyridine complex and ortho-functionalized pyridine derivatives

The reaction of pinB-BMes2 (pin = pinacolato, Mes = 2,4,6-Me3C6H2) with Xyl-NC (Xyl = 2,6-Me2C6H3) and pyridine results in the formation of a pyridine-coordinated boraalkene that exhibits an intense color caused by an intramolecular charge-transfer interaction. In the presence of an excess of pyridine, the ortho C-H bond of pyridine was selectively functionalized to afford a quinoid compound or an isocyanide-coupled product. Based on the concentration effect, the reaction stoichiometry, and previously reported DFT calculations, a reaction mechanism that involves several rearrangement reactions was proposed. Using the present method, substituted pyridines and N-heterocycles afforded the corresponding functionalized derivatives. A subsequent hydrolysis of one of the resulting products furnished an aminomethylated pyridine derivative in two steps from parent pyridine.

Tuning the nucleophilicity of electron-rich diborane(4) compounds with bridging guanidinate substituents by substitution

The proton affinity, HOMO energy and ionization energy of electron-rich sp³–sp³-hybridized diborane(4) compounds with bridging guanidinate substituents can be varied by substitution.

Diboron(4) Compounds: From Structural Curiosity to Synthetic Workhorse

Although known for over 90 years, only in the past two decades has the chemistry of diboron(4) compounds been extensively explored. Many interesting structural features and reaction patterns have emerged, and more importantly, these compounds now feature prominently in both metal-catalyzed and metal-free methodologies for the formation of B-C bonds and other processes.

Carbohydrate-Catalyzed Enantioselective Alkene Diboration: Enhanced Reactivity of 1,2-Bonded Diboron Complexes

Catalytic enantioselective diboration of alkenes is accomplished with readily available carbohydrate-derived catalysts. Mechanistic experiments suggest the intermediacy of 1,2-bonded diboronates.

sp(2)-sp(3) diboranes: astounding structural variability and mild sources of nucleophilic boron for organic synthesis

Despite the widespread use of organoborane reagents in organic synthesis and catalysis, a major challenge still remains: very few boron-centered nucleophiles exist for the direct construction of B-C bonds. Perhaps the most promising emerging solution to this problem is the use of sp(2)-sp(3) diboranes, in which one boron atom of a conventional diborane(4) is quaternised by either a neutral or anionic nucleophile. These compounds, either isolated or generated in situ, serve as relatively mild and convenient sources of the boryl anion [BR2](-) for use in organic synthesis and have already proven their efficacy in metal-free as well as metal-catalysed borylation reactions. This Feature article documents the history of sp(2)-sp(3) diborane synthesis, their properties and surprising structural variability, and their burgeoning utility in organic synthesis.

Room temperature ring expansion of N-heterocyclic carbenes and B-B bond cleavage of diboron(4) compounds

We report the isolation and detailed structural characterization, by solid-state and solution NMR spectroscopy, of the neutral mono- and bis-NHC adducts of bis(catecholato)diboron (B2 cat2 ). The bis-NHC adduct undergoes thermally induced rearrangement, forming a six-membered -B-C=N-C=C-N-heterocyclic ring via C-N bond cleavage and ring expansion of the NHC, whereas the mono-NHC adduct is stable. Bis(neopentylglycolato)diboron (B2 neop2 ) is much more reactive than B2 cat2 giving a ring expanded product at room temperature, demonstrating that ring expansion of NHCs can be a very facile process with significant implications for their use in catalysis.

Boron–boron J coupling constants are unique probes of electronic structure: a solid-state NMR and molecular orbital study

J couplings measured between ¹¹B spin pairs in solid diboron compounds provide insight into electronic structure and crystallographic symmetry.

Central-transition double-quantum sideband NMR spectroscopy of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei: estimating internuclear distances and probing clusters within multi-spin networks

Clusters within quadrupolar spin networks are probed and internuclear distances between quadrupolar nuclei are estimated by central-transition double-quantum sideband NMR spectroscopy.

Symmetry-amplified J splittings for quadrupolar spin pairs: a solid-state NMR probe of homoatomic covalent bonds

Chemically informative J couplings between pairs of quadrupolar nuclei in dimetallic and dimetalloid coordination motifs are measured using J-resolved solid-state NMR experiments. It is shown that the application of a double-quantum filter is necessary to observe the J splittings and that, under these conditions, only a simple doublet is expected. Interestingly, the splitting is amplified if the spins are magnetically equivalent, making it possible to measure highly precise J couplings and unambiguously probe the symmetry of the molecule. This is demonstrated experimentally by chemically breaking the symmetry about a pair of boron spins by reaction with an N-heterocyclic carbene to form a β-borylation reagent. The results show that the J coupling is a sensitive probe of bonding in diboron compounds and that the J values quantify the weakening of the B-B bond which occurs when forming an sp(2)-sp(3) diboron compound, which is relevant to their reactivity. Due to the prevalence of quadrupolar nuclei among transition metals, this work also provides a new approach to probe metal-metal bonding; results for Mn2(CO)10 are provided as an example.

Estimating internuclear distances between half-integer quadrupolar nuclei by central-transition double-quantum sideband NMR spectroscopy

We demonstrate the estimation of homonuclear dipolar couplings, and thereby internuclear distances, between half-integer spin quadrupolar nuclei by central-transition (CT) double-quantum (2Q) sideband nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. It is shown that the rotor-encoded sideband amplitudes from CT 2Q coherences in the indirect dimension of the two-dimensional NMR spectrum are sensitive probes of the magnitude of the homonuclear dipolar coupling, but are significantly less affected by other NMR parameters such as the magnitudes and orientations of the electric field gradient tensors. Experimental results of employing the [Formula: see text] recoupling sequence to the 11B spin pair of bis(catecholato)diboron resulted in an estimation of the internuclear B–B distance as (169.6 ± 3) pm, i.e., with a relative uncertainty of ±2%, and in excellent agreement with the distance of 167.8 pm determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

A method for the deprotection of alkylpinacolyl boronate esters

A two-step procedure for deprotection of alkylpinacolyl boronate esters via transesterification with diethanolamine followed by hydrolysis was successfully developed with the advantages of tolerance to various functional groups, short reaction time, and ease of product isolation.

Synthesis and reactivity of dichloroboryl complexes of platinum(ii)

The reaction between [Pt(nbe)3] (nbe=norbornene), two equivalents of the phosphines PPh3, PMePh2 or PMe2Ph and 1 equivalent of BCl3 affords the platinum dichloroboryl species [PtCl(BCl2)(PPh3)2], [PtCl(BCl2)(PMePh2)2] and [PtCl(BCl2)(PMe2Ph)2]. All three complexes were characterised by X-ray crystallography and reveal that the boryl group lies trans to the chloride. With PMe3 as the phosphine, the complex [PtCl(BCl2)(PMe3)2] is isolated in high yield as a white crystalline powder although crystals suitable for X-ray crystallography were not obtained. Crystals were obtained of a product shown by X-ray crystallography to be the unusual dinuclear species [Pt2(BCl2)2(PMe3)4(micro-Cl)][BCl4] which reveals an arrangement in which two square planar platinum(II) centres are linked by a single bridging chloride which is trans to a BCl2 group on each platinum centre. The reaction of [PtCl(BCl2)(PMe3)2] with NEt3 or pyridine (py) affords the adducts [PtCl{BCl2(NEt3)}(PMe3)2] and [PtCl{BCl2(py)}(PMe3)2], respectively, both characterised spectroscopically. The reaction between [PtCl(BCl2)(PMe3)2] and either 4 equivalents of NHEt2 or piperidine (pipH) results in the mono-substituted boryl species [PtCl{BCl(NEt2)}(PMe3)2] and [PtCl{BCl(pip)}(PMe3)2], respectively, the former characterised by X-ray crystallography. Treatment of either [PtCl(BCl2)(PMe3)2] (in the presence of excess NEt3) or [PtCl{BCl(NEt2)}(PMe3)2] with catechol affords the B(cat) (cat=catecholate) derivative [PtCl{B(cat)}(PMe3)2] which is also formed in the reaction between [Pt(PMe3)4] and ClB(cat) and also from the slow decomposition of [Pt{B(cat)}2(PMe3)2] in dichloromethane over a period of months. The compound [Pt{B(cat)}2(PMe3)2] was prepared from the reaction between [Pt(PMe3)4] and B2(cat)2.

Synthesis and catalysed hydroboration of styryl sulfonamides

We have prepared the aryl sulfonamides 4,4′-R-C6H4SO2NHC6H4CH=CH2 (R = CH3, 1a; NO2, 1b) by addition of 2 equiv. of 4-vinylaniline to the corresponding sulfonyl chlorides. The disulfonamides 4,4,4′-(R-C6H4SO2)2NC6H4CH=CH2 (R = CH3, 2a; NO2, 2b) were also prepared using 4-vinylaniline and 2 equiv. of the sulfonyl chlorides in the presence of DMAP. Although hydroborations of sulfanilamide derivatives 1 suffered from competing hydrogenation reactions, judicious choice of the transition metal catalyst gave selective formation of either the primary or secondary boronate esters in hydroborations of 2a.Key words: boronate esters, catalysed hydroborations, sulfanilamides, vinylaniline.