Until recently, organoboronic acids have been of limited use in organic synthesis due to their low reactivity for ionic reactions. During the past two decades; however, it has become increasingly clear that they are valuable reagents capable of undergoing many carbon-carbon bond formations in organic syntheses. In 1979, catalytic carbon-carbon bond formation, via transmetalation between organoboron compounds and palladium (II) halides, was found to proceed in the presence of a base.
Historical PerspectivesAlthough organoboronic acids are highly advantageous as reagents in 1 laboratories and industries because they are largely unaffected by the presence of water, tolerate a broad range of functionalities, and yield nontoxic by-products, the boron-carbon bond is highly inert to ionic reactions. Transmetalation to other metals, especially to transition metals, is one promising process that enables the carbon-carbon bond formation by using organoboronic acids [1][2][3]. The interaction between 1-hexenylboronic acid and palladium(II) acetate was first demonstrated by Heck [4]. In situ preparation of (E)-or (Z)-1-alkenylpalladium(II) acetate via transmetalation was followed by its conjugate addition to ethyl acrylate (Scheme 1). Negishi found that boron-ate complexes such as lithium 1-alkynyltributylborate can participate in Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling [5,6]. Heck-type addition-elimination mechanism was proposed because other types of lithium tetraalkylborates, such as alkyl-, alkenyl-, and aryl derivatives, were unreactive. In spite of these previous observations, it was very difficult to use organoboron compounds to the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction; thus, an alternative and two-step procedure involving transmetalation of trialkylboranes to alkylmagnesium halides was developed by Murahashi [7].<>In 1976, we attempted a stoichiometric reaction between trialkylboranes and π-allylpalladium(II) chloride [8]. However, our first attempt failed because the reaction resulted in the exclusive formation of β-hydride elimination products. It was interesting that trialkylboranes readily alkylate π-allylpalladium(II) chloride without the assistance of a base immediately precipitating palladium black; however, a major process was quarternization of the boron atom with a negatively charged base enhances the nucleophilicity of the organic group on the boron atom for alkylation of R-Pd-X (6).
4Although there is no direct evidence for analogous hydroxyboronate anions, RB(OH) 3 -(7), which exists in alkaline solution in equilibrium with a free organoboronic acid, could similarly alkylate R-Pd-X (6) (path A). The transmetalation to 1 decreasing in the order of Cl > Br > I is the reverse of the oxidative addition of organic halides to palladium(0) complexes and is highly dependent on the counter cation of the added bases.<>An alternative process is transmetalation to an alkoxo-, hydroxo-, acetoxo-, or (acetylacetoxo)palladium(II) complex (9)