A series of diolate-substituted diboron compounds were investigated as reagents for iridium-catalyzed C-H borylations of arenes. These studies showed that commercially available bis(hexylene glycolato)diboron reacts with arenes in the presence of the catalyst generated from [Ir(COD)OMe] 2 and di-tert-butylbipyridine. This reagent is prepared from a less expensive diol than the more commonly used bis(pinacolato)diboron reagent.Arylboronate esters are versatile synthetic intermediates that undergo Suzuki-Miyaura and Chan-Lam-Evans cross-coupling reactions to form C-C and C-X bonds. 1,2 A traditional method to form these aromatic organoboron reagents is the addition of a reactive organometallic species, such as an aryllithium or aryl Grignard reagent, to an electrophilic boron compound. More recently, metal-catalyzed reactions of aryl halides have been employed to form arylboronate esters. 3 The Ir-catalyzed C-H borylation of arenes (Scheme 1) has become a powerful method to access arylboronate esters directly from aryl C-H bonds instead of a prefunctionalized aryl halide. 4-6 Besides being a more facile approach to the synthesis of arylboronate esters than the borylation of aryl halides, the selectivity of the Ir-catalyzed C-H borylation of arenes is distinct. The regioselectivity of the C-H borylation of arenes is controlled by the steric properties of the substrate. 7 Therefore, it complements C-H functionalization methods that rely on directing groups 8-10 and FriedelCrafts reactions of electron-rich substrates that are controlled by the electronic properties of the arene.
Scheme 1 Iridium-catalyzed borylation of arenesAlthough the scope of the arenes that undergo Ir-catalyzed C-H borylation is broad, and many functional groups are tolerated, the scope of the diboron reagents that undergo C-H borylation is limited. Only a few boron reagents undergo Ir-catalyzed C-H functionalization reactions. Most commonly, the C-H borylation of arenes is conducted with bis(pinacolato)diboron (B 2 pin 2 ) or pinacolborane (HBpin) as the boron source. In addition to the wide range of reports on the reactions of this reagent, Suginome and co-workers reported the C-H borylation with 1,8-naphthalenediaminatoborane (HBdan) as the boron reagent, 11 and our group reported the C-H borylation of arenes with bis(catecholato)diboron (B 2 cat 2 ). 12 Both reagents were less reactive for the C-H borylation of arenes than B 2 pin 2 and required neat substrate to obtain significant yields.We have proposed that the origin of this difference in reactivity stems from electronic effects. The addition of B 2 pin 2 to the iridium center forms a more electron-rich complex than that from addition of B 2 cat 2 , and the C-H bond cleavage of arenes by a complex containing a more electron-rich metal center occurs faster than that by a complex containing a more electron-poor metal center. 12,13 Although the C-H borylation occurs with the highest turnover numbers with B 2 pin 2 as the boron reagent, the pinacolate ester products generated in these reactio...