A new catalytic system based on a Zn(II) NHC precursor has been developed for the cross-coupling reaction of alkyl halides with diboron reagents, which represents a novel use of a Group XII catalyst for CX borylation. This approach gives borylations of unactivated primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl halides at room temperature to furnish alkyl boronates, with good functional-group compatibility, under mild conditions. Preliminary mechanistic investigations demonstrated that this borylation reaction seems to involve one-electron processes.

The latest development in the catalytic hydroboration of CO groups is summarized in this review. Access to borate ester intermediates provides a pathway to convert them into the corresponding valuable functionalized alcohols.

Organoboron reagents represent a unique class of compounds because of their utility in modern synthetic organic chemistry, often affording unprecedented reactivity. The transformation of the carbon−boron bond into a carbon−X (X = C, N, and O) bond in a stereocontrolled fashion has become invaluable in medicinal chemistry, agrochemistry, and natural products chemistry as well as materials science. Over the past decade, first-row dblock transition metals have become increasingly widely used as catalysts for the formation of a carbon−boron bond, a transformation traditionally catalyzed by expensive precious metals. This recent focus on alternative transition metals has enabled growth in fundamental methods in organoboron chemistry. This review surveys the current state-of-the-art in the use of first-row d-block element-based catalysts for the formation of carbon−boron bonds.

A zinc‐catalyzed combined CX and CH borylation of aryl halides using B2pin2 (pin=OCMe2CMe2O) to produce the corresponding 1,2‐diborylarenes under mild conditions was developed. Catalytic CH bond activation occurs ortho to the halide groups if such a site is available or meta to the halide if the ortho position is already substituted. This method thus represents a novel use of a group XII catalyst for CH borylation. This transformation does not proceed via a free aryne intermediate, but a radical process seems to be involved.

Reaction of [1,2-(Cp*RuH)(2)B(3)H(7)] (1; Cp*=η(5)-C(5)Me(5)) with [Mo(CO)(3)(CH(3)CN)(3)] yielded arachno-[(Cp*RuCO)(2)B(2)H(6)] (2), which exhibits a butterfly structure, reminiscent of 7 sep B(4)H(10). Compound 2 was found to be a very good precursor for the generation of bridged borylene species. Mild pyrolysis of 2 with [Fe(2)(CO)(9)] yielded a triply bridged heterotrinuclear borylene complex [(μ(3)-BH)(Cp*RuCO)(2)(μ-CO){Fe(CO)(3)}] (3) and bis-borylene complexes [{(μ(3)-BH)(Cp*Ru)(μ-CO)}(2)Fe(2)(CO)(5)] (4) and [{(μ(3)-BH)(Cp*Ru)Fe(CO)(3)}(2)(μ-CO)] (5). In a similar fashion, pyrolysis of 2 with [Mn(2)(CO)(10)] permits the isolation of μ(3)-borylene complex [(μ(3)-BH)(Cp*RuCO)(2)(μ-H)(μ-CO){Mn(CO)(3)}] (6). Both compounds 3 and 6 have a trigonal-pyramidal geometry with the μ(3)-BH ligand occupying the apical vertex, whereas 4 and 5 can be viewed as bicapped tetrahedra, with two μ(3)-borylene ligands occupying the capping position. The synthesis of tantalum borylene complex [(μ(3)-BH)(Cp*TaCO)(2)(μ-CO){Fe(CO)(3)}] (7) was achieved by the reaction of [(Cp*Ta)(2)B(4)H(9)(μ-BH(4))] [corrected] at ambient temperature with [Fe(2)(CO)(9)]. Compounds 2-7 have been isolated in modest yield as yellow to red crystalline solids. All the new compounds have been characterized in solution by mass spectrometry; IR spectroscopy; and (1)H, (11)B, and (13)C NMR spectroscopy and the structural types were unequivocally established by crystallographic analysis of 2-6.

Reaction of [Cp(n)MCl(4-x)] (M=V: n=x=2; M=Nb: n=1, x=0) or [Cp*TaCl(4)] (Cp=eta(5)-C(5)H(5), Cp*=eta(5)-C(5)Me(5)), with [LiBH(4).thf] at -70 degrees C followed by thermolysis at 85 degrees C in the presence of [BH(3).thf] yielded the hydrogen-rich metallaboranes [(CpM)(2)(B(2)H(6))(2)] (1: M=V; 2: M=Nb) and [(Cp*Ta)(2)(B(2)H(6))(2)] (3) in modest to high yields. Complexes 1 and 3 are the first structurally characterized compounds with a metal-metal bond bridged by two hexahydroborate (B(2)H(6)) groups forming a symmetrical complex. Addition of [BH(3).thf] to 3 results in formation of a metallaborane [(Cp*Ta)(2)B(4)H(8)(mu-BH(4))] (4) containing a tetrahydroborate ligand, [BH(4)](-), bound exo to the bicapped tetrahedral cage [(Cp*Ta)(2)B(4)H(8)] by two Ta-H-B bridge bonds. The interesting structural feature of 4 is the coordination of the bridging tetrahydroborate group, which has two B-H bonds coordinated to the tantalum atoms. All these new metallaboranes have been characterized by mass, (1)H, (11)B, and (13)C NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis and the structural types were established unequivocally by crystallographic analysis of 1-4.

A copper­(II)-catalyzed borylation of alkyl halides with bis­(pinacolato)­diboron (B2pin2) has been developed, which can be carried out in air, providing a wide range of primary, secondary, and some tertiary alkylboronates in high yields. A variety of functional groups are tolerated and the protocol is also applicable to unactivated alkyl chlorides (including 1,1- and 1,2-dichlorides). Preliminary mechanistic investigations show that this borylation reaction involves one-electron processes.

A zinc(II)/NHC system catalyzes the borylation of aryl halides with diboron (4) reagents in the presence of KOMe at rt. This transformation can be applied to a broad range of substrates with high functional group compatibility. Radical scavenger experiments do not support a radical-mediated process.