This review covers the development of the transition metal-catalysed hydroboration reaction, from its beginnings in the 1980s to more recent developments including earth-abundant catalysts and an ever-expanding array of substrates.

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α-Difluoromethyl pyrroles were found to be stable while N-protected with an electron-withdrawing group. Due to the propensity of pyrroles to access azafulvenium-like intermediates, the C-F bonds of an α-difluoromethyl substituent are labile under hydrolytic conditions. The presence of certain electron-withdrawing substituents about the pyrrolic ring can accelerate this process, as determined through a kinetic comparison of the deprotection and subsequent hydrolysis reactions of N-protected β-aryl α-difluoromethyl pyrroles.

The Pd-catalyzed regioselective C-H activation/arylation, /iodination, and/acetoxylation reactions of 4-arylpyrimidines using aryl iodides, N-iodosuccinimide, and (diacetoxyiodo)benzene respectively as coupling partners are described. Suzuki-Miyaura coupling and Sonogashira reactions of the resulting aryl iodides are demonstrated. The scalability of the C-H activation/functionalization starting with readily accessible 4-aryl pyrimidines is also reported.

The reduction of BODIPYs and dipyrrins to dipyrromethanes, via a reaction involving ethylene glycol and sodium methoxide, is reported. When benzyl alcohol is used in place of ethylene glycol, the addition of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine to the reaction mixture after microwave irradiation results in the production of 1-benzylidene-2-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)hydrazone, indicating concomitant production of aldehyde alongside the dipyrromethane.