Boranes are widely used Lewis acids and N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are popular Lewis bases, so it is remarkable how little was known about their derived complexes until recently. NHC-boranes are typically readily accessible and many are so stable that they can be treated like organic compounds rather than complexes. They do not exhibit "borane chemistry", but instead are proving to have a rich chemistry of their own as reactants, as reagents, as initiators, and as catalysts. They have significant potential for use in organic synthesis and in polymer chemistry. They can be used to easily make unusual complexes with a broad spectrum of functional groups not usually seen in organoboron chemistry. Many of their reactions occur through new classes of reactive intermediates including borenium cations, boryl radicals, and even boryl anions. This Review provides comprehensive coverage of the synthesis, characterization, and reactions of NHC-boranes.

Boryl halide, carboxylate and sulfonate complexes of 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (dipp-Imd-BH(2)X, X = halide or sulfonate) have been prepared from the parent borane dipp-Imd-BH(3) by (1) substitution reactions with R-X (X = halide or sulfonate), (2) reactions with electrophiles (like I(2) or NIS), or (3) acid/base reactions with HX (provided that HX has a pK(a) of about 2 or less). Dipp-Imd-BH(2)I is most conveniently prepared by reaction with diiodine while dipp-Imd-BH(2)OTf is best prepared by reaction with triflic acid. These and other less reactive complexes behave as electrophiles and can be substituted by a wide range of heteroatom nucleophiles including halides, thiolates and other sulfur-based nucleophiles, isocyanate, azide, nitrite, and cyanide. The resulting products are remarkably stable, and many have been characterized by X-ray crystallography. Several are members of very rare classes of functionalized boron compounds (boron azide, nitro compound, nitrous ester, etc.).

Calculations suggest that complexes of borane with N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) have B-H bond dissocation energies more then 20 kcal/mol less than free borane, diborane, borane-THF, and related complexes. Values are in the range of popular radical hydrogen atom donors like tin hydrides (70-80 kcal/mol). The resulting prediction that NHC borane complexes could be used as radical hydrogen atom donors was verified by radical deoxygenations of xanthates by using either AIBN or triethylborane as initiator.

Reduction of xanthates by N-heterocyclic carbene boranes (NHC-boranes) has been suggested to occur by a radical chain mechanism involving heretofore unknown NHC-boryl radicals. In support of this suggestion, both the expected borane dithiocarbonate product and an unexpected borane xanthate product have now been isolated. These are the first NHC-boranes with boron-sulfur bonds, and their structures have been secured by spectroscopic and crystallographic means. The first rate constants for H-atom transfer from an NHC borane complex were determined by using the ring opening of a substituted cyclobutylcarbinyl radical as a clock reaction. The rate constant for reaction of the NHC-borane with a secondary alkyl radical at ambient temperature is 4 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1), and the Arrhenius function displayed an entropic term (log A term) that was typical for a bimolecular reaction. The B-H bond dissociation energy of an NHC-borane complex has been estimated at 88 kcal/mol. The putative NHC-boryl radical in these transformations has been detected by EPR spectroscopy. Spectral analysis suggests that it is a pi-radical, analogous to the benzyl radical.

Otherwise sluggish or completely ineffective radical reductions of alkyl and aryl halides by N-heterocyclic carbene boranes (NHC-boranes) are catalyzed by thiols. Reductions and reductive cyclizations with readily available 1,3-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene borane and a water-soluble triazole relative are catalyzed by thiophenol and tert-dodecanethiol [C(9)H(19)C(CH(3))(2)SH]. Rate constants for reaction of the phenylthiyl (PhS•) radical with two NHC-boranes have been measured to be ~10(8) M(-1) s(-1) by laser flash photolysis experiments. An analysis of the available evidence suggests the operation of polarity reversal catalysis.

Macrocycle 1 is a new highly potent analogue of bryostatin 1, a promising anti-cancer agent currently in human clinical trials. In vitro, 1 displays picomolar affinity for PKC and exhibits over 100-fold greater potency than bryostatin 1 when tested against various human cancer cell lines. Macrocycle 1 can be generated in clinically required amounts by chemical synthesis in only 19 steps (LLS) and represents a new clinical lead for the treatment of cancer.

Newly discovered N-heterocyclic carbene-boryl radicals (NHC-BH 2 • ) derived from readily available N-heterocyclic carbene-boranes are found to be efficient initiators for acrylate photopolymerization. Laser flash photolysis (LFP) experiments were used to generate three carbene-boryl radicals, which were characterized by their transient absorption spectra with the aid of DFT calculations. Rate constants were measured for the generation of the carbene-boryl radicals by hydrogen abstraction with tert-butoxyl radical, a ketophosphonyl radical, and triplet benzophenone. Rate constants were also measured for the reactions of the carbene-boryl radicals with oxygen, three alkenes, two alkyl chlorides, and diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate. The observed trends were interpreted with the aid of measured oxidation potentials of the carbene-boranes and calculated ionization potentials of the carbene-boryls. N-Heterocyclic carbeneboranes show excellent potential as both photopolymerization co-initiators and mediators of small molecule radical reactions, and these results will help guide further development in both fields.

N-Heterocyclic carbene boranes (NHC-boranes) are a new "clean" class of reagents suitable for reductive radical chain transformations. Their structures are well suited for their reactivity to be tuned by inclusion of different NHC ring units and by appropriate placement of diverse substituents. EPR spectra were obtained for the boron-centered radicals generated on removal of one of the BH(3) hydrogen atoms. This spectroscopic data, coupled with DFT computations, demonstrated that the NHC-BH(2)* radicals are planar pi-delocalized species. tert-Butoxyl radicals abstracted hydrogen atoms from NHC-boranes more than 3 orders of magnitude faster than did C-centered radicals, although the rate decreased markedly for sterically shielded NHC-BH(3) centers. Combinations of two NHC-boryl radicals afforded 1,2-bis-NHC-diboranes at rates which also depended strongly on steric shielding. The termination rate increased to the diffusion-controlled limit for sterically unhindered NHC-boryls. Bromine atoms were rapidly transferred to imidazole-based NHC-boryl radicals from alkyl, allyl, and benzyl bromides. Chlorine-atom abstraction was, however, much less efficient and only observed for sterically unhindered NHC-boryls reacting with allylic and benzylic chlorides. For an NHC-borane containing a bulky thexyl substituent at boron, the tertiary H atom of the thexyl group was selectively removed. The resulting beta-boron-containing alkyl radical rapidly underwent beta scission of the B-C bond with production of an NHC-boryl radical and an alkene.