The expansion of molecular diversity beyond what nature can produce is a fundamental objective in chemical sciences. Despite the rich chemistry of boron-containing heterocycles, the 1,3-dioxa-5-aza-2,4,6-triborinane (DATB) ring system, which is characterized by a six-membered BNO core, remains elusive. Here, we report the synthesis of m-terphenyl-templated DATB derivatives, displaying high stability and peculiar Lewis acidity arising from the three suitably arranged boron atoms. We identify a particular utility for DATB in the dehydrative amidation of carboxylic acids and amines, a reaction of high academic and industrial importance. The three boron sites are proposed to engage in substrate assembly, lowering the entropic cost of the transition state, in contrast with the operative mechanism of previously reported catalysts and amide coupling reagents. The distinct mechanistic pathway dictated by the DATB core will advance not only such amidations, but also other reactions driven by multisite activation.

Boron serves a distinctive role in a broad range of chemistry disciplines. The utility of the element lies in its Lewis acidity, and thus, it is crucial to understand the properties of the boron atom in chemically different contexts. Herein, a combination of experiments and computations reveals the nuanced nature of boron in direct amidation reactions catalyzed by recently disclosed 1,3-dioxa-5-aza-2,4,6-triborinanes (DATBs). The most active DATB catalyst has been shown to bear an azaborine ring in its structure, thus having four boron atoms in a single molecule. Three chemically distinct boron atoms in the catalyst framework have been shown to serve different roles in the catalytic cycle, depending on their innate Lewis acidity. More specifically, the most Lewis acidic boron interacts with the amine, whereas the two boron atoms in the B–N–B substructure acquire Lewis acidity only upon protonation of the center nitrogen atom. Furthermore, although the least acidic boron atom in the azaborine ring did not act as a Lewis acid, it still plays an important role in the catalytic cycle by forming a hydrogen bond between carboxylic acid and the B–OH moiety. The mechanistic insights obtained from this study not only extend the knowledge on catalytic direct amidation but also provide a guiding principle for the further exploration of multi-boron compounds.

We introduce O-benzoylhydroxylamines as competent alkyl nitrene precursors. The combination of readily available, stable substrates and a proficient rhodium catalyst provides a straightforward means for the construction of various pyrrolidine rings from the corresponding primary amines. Preliminary mechanistic investigation suggests that the structure of the nitrene precursor plays a role in determining the nature of the resulting reactive intermediate.

In contrast to recent significant progress in the development of catalytic methodologies for nitrogen acylations, syntheses of N-acyl sulfoximines have been slow to evolve, and still largely rely on the use of stoichiometric amounts of activating reagents. Here we describe the direct acylation of the nitrogen atom in sulfoximines with carboxylic acids promoted by a heterocyclic catalyst featuring the BNO ring system. The protocol used was found to be operationally simple and to tolerate a wide range of functional groups, furnishing the N-acylated sulfoximines in good yield. The multiboron catalyst tamed previously intractable nitrogen nucleophiles, allowing for the short synthesis of a factor Xa inhibitor by catalyzing two consecutive nitrogen acylations in the same pot.

A new fluorogenic probe based on the recently identified 2,5-diaminopyrimidine (C4N4) fluorophore is introduced for azide-specific labelling.