Boraalkenes Made by a Hydroboration Route: Cycloaddition and B=C Bond Cleavage Reactions

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2023 Jan 23;62(4):e202214700. doi: 10.1002/anie.202214700. Epub 2022 Dec 20.

Abstract

Hydroboration of styrene or vinylcyclohexane with the IMes(C6 F5 )BH+ cation followed by deprotonation provided a convenient synthetic entry to the [B]=CHCH2 R boraalkenes 9 a and 9 b. The in situ generated IMes(SCN)BH+ system reacted similarly with 1,1-diphenylethene followed by deprotonation to give the isothiocyanato substituted boraalkene 9 c. The boraalkenes underwent [2+2] cycloaddition reactions with a small series of heterocumulenes to give the respective four-membered heterocycles. The [B]=CHCH2 R+CO2 cycloadducts 13 a and 13 b added the borane HB(C6 F5 )2 with cleavage of the central B-C σ-bond. CS2 underwent an unusual reaction with the boraalkenes, namely insertion into the B=C bond with formation of the borylated dithioketene acetal under complete rupture of the strong B=C double bond. The intermediate dithiobora-β-lactone type intermediate was isolated in the case of the isothiocyanato-boraalkene reaction and characterized by X-ray diffraction.

Keywords: Bond Cleavage; Boraalkene; Carbon Disulfide; Cycloaddition; Insertion Reactions.