Kinetics and mechanisms of transition-metal free reactions of furyl, thienyl and indolyl trifluoroborates with benzhydrylium (Ar2CH(+)) and iminium (Me2N(+)═CHR) ions have been investigated. In contrast to common belief, substitutions at CH positions are often faster than ipso-substitutions of the BF3K group, because BF3K activates the position attached to boron by a factor of 10(3)-10(4) while adjacent CH positions are activated by factors of 10(5)-10(6). Several reactions that have previously been interpreted as ipso-substitutions actually proceed via initial substitution at a vicinal or remote CH position, followed by protodeborylation. If the proton released during electrophilic substitution at a CH position is trapped by a base, the BF3(-) group can be preserved. Remote reactions of heteroaryl trifluoroborates with iminium ions provide straightforward access to novel zwitterionic ammonium or iminium trifluoroborates, which have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray analyses.

Optically enriched secondary alkyl iodides were converted into secondary alkyllithium and secondary alkylcopper compounds with very high retention of configuration. Quenching with various electrophiles, including chiral epoxides, provided a range of chiral molecules with high enantiomeric purity (>90 % ee). This method has been applied in an iterative fashion in the total synthesis of (-)-lardolure in 13 steps and 5.4 % overall yield (>99 % ee, dr>99:1) and siphonarienal in 15 steps and 5.6 % overall yield (>99 % ee, dr>99:1) starting from commercially available ethyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate (>99 % ee).

Several phosphonium and ammonium triarylborohydrides, which are intermediates in hydrogenation reactions catalyzed by frustrated Lewis pairs, were synthesized in high yield under mild conditions from triaryl boranes, ammonium or phosphonium halides, and triethylsilane. The kinetics and mechanisms of the reactions of these hydridoborate salts with benzhydrylium ions, iminium ions, quinone methides, and Michael acceptors were investigated, and their nucleophilicity was determined and compared with that of other hydride donors.

A copper(I)-mediated cross-coupling of stereodefined secondary alkyllithiums with bromoalkynes provided stereodefined alkynes with high diastereoselectivity (dr up to 98:2). This cross-coupling was extended to various secondary alkyllithiums bearing a remote oxygen functionality, and the alkyne synthesis was also performed with optically enriched alkyl iodides (up to 99% ee) providing, after cross-coupling, alkynes bearing two stereocenters (dr = 93:7; up to 99% ee).

The treatment of α-chiral secondary alkyl iodides with tBuLi at -100 °C leads to the corresponding secondary alkyllithiums with high retention of configuration. Subsequent quenching with various electrophiles such as Bu2 S2 , DMF, MeOB(OR)2 , or Et2 CO provides the desired products with retention of configuration. Furthermore, a transmetalation with CuBr⋅P(OEt)3 also allows retentive trapping with acid chlorides and ethylene oxide. The quenching of the resulting alkyllithiums with ClCO2 Et furnishes stereoselectively syn- and anti-ethyl-2,3-dimethyl ester carboxylates (d.r.>94 %). Related esters bearing three adjacent stereo-controlled centers (stereotriads) have also been prepared. This method has been applied to the synthesis of the ant pheromone (±)-lasiol in 26 % overall yield (four steps) with d.r.=97:3 starting from commercially available cis-2,3-epoxybutane.