Stereoselective formation of trisubstituted vinyl boronate esters by the acid-mediated elimination of α-hydroxyboronate esters.

The copper-catalyzed diboration of ketones followed by an acid-catalyzed elimination leads to the formation of 1,1-disubstituted and trisubstituted vinyl boronate esters with moderate to good yields and selectivity. Addition of tosic acid to the crude diboration products provides the corresponding vinyl boronate esters upon elimination. The trisubstituted vinyl boronate esters are formed as the (Z)-olefin isomer, which was established by subjecting the products to a Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction to obtain alkenes of known geometry.

Synthesis of Ruthenium Boryl Analogues of the Shvo Metal-Ligand Bifunctional Catalyst.

Metal boryl complexes have received significant attention in the literature in recent years due to their role as key intermediates in a number of metal-catalyzed borylation reactions. The ligand scaffold is known to have a significant impact on the observed reactivity of these metal boryl complexes. A synthetic strategy to access ruthenium boryl analogues of the Shvo metal-ligand catalysts is described.