Iodine-Catalyzed Borylation of Benzylic Alcohols

Org Lett. 2023 Mar 17;25(10):1701-1705. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c00367. Epub 2023 Mar 6.

Abstract

Direct borylation of benzylic alcohols has been achieved via an iodine-catalyzed process. This transition-metal-free borylation transformation is compatible with various functional groups and provides a practical and convenient method to access important and useful benzylic boronate esters from widely available benzylic alcohols. Preliminary mechanistic investigations indicated that benzylic iodide and radicals are involved as the key intermediates in this borylation reaction.