Timothy B. Clark

Copper-Catalyzed Diboration of Ketones: Facile Synthesis of Tertiary α-Hydroxyboronate Esters

The diboration of ketones with the (ICy)CuOt-Bu catalyst was developed to provide access to tertiary alpha-hydroxyboronate esters. The (ICy)CuOt-Bu catalyst was generated in situ with (ICy)CuCl and NaOt-Bu to afford a more efficient catalyst than the preformed (ICy)CuOt-Bu. These conditions result in the diboration of various ketones in toluene at 50 degrees C in 2-22 h. Treatment of the resulting products with silica gel affords the corresponding alpha-hydroxyboronate esters.

Facile Formation of β-Hydroxyboronate Esters by a Cu-Catalyzed Diboration/Matteson Homologation Sequence

The copper-catalyzed diboration of aldehydes was used in conjunction with the Matteson homologation, providing the efficient synthesis of β-hydroxyboronate esters. The oxygen-bound boronate ester was found to play a key role in mediating the homologation reaction, which was compared to the α-hydroxyboronate ester (isolated hydrolysis product). The synthetic utility of the diboration/homologation sequence was demonstrated through the oxidation of one product to provide a 1,2-diol.

Selective Formation of ortho-Aminobenzylamines by the Copper-Catalyzed Amination of Benzylamine Boronate Esters

The copper-catalyzed coupling between benzylamino boronate esters and aryl amines has been investigated. Formation of ortho-aminobenzylamines was achieved under oxidative conditions in the presence of copper(II) acetate. The major side product of the transformation is the homocoupling of the aryl boronate ester. The formation of the desired diamines was found to be improved in the absence of base, increasing selectivity over the homocoupled product. Both electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substituents are tolerated on both the boronate ester substrate and the aniline coupling partner under the reaction conditions. The presence of the adjacent benzylamine moiety appears to enhance the reactivity of the boronate ester and influence the resulting product distribution, likely by affecting the competing rates of transmetalation in the catalytic cycles.

Alkylidenesilacyclopropanes derived from allenes: applications to the selective synthesis of triols and homoallylic alcohols.

Several alkylidenesilacyclopropanes were prepared by silver-mediated silylene transfer to allenes. Oxasilacyclopentanes derived from allenes were prepared with high regio- and diastereoselectivity by a two-step, one-flask silacyclopropanation/carbonyl insertion reaction. Triols and homoallylic alcohols were formed diastereoselectively by functionalizing the oxasilacyclopentanes. An optically active allene (>98% ee) was utilized to synthesize an enantiopure homoallylic alcohol in 96% ee.

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 Biaryl Ethers by the Copper-Catalyzed Chan–Evans–Lam Etherification from Benzylic Amine Boronate Esters

The copper-catalyzed etherification of ortho-borylated benzylic amines with phenols has been achieved to provide biaryl ethers that are prevalent in biologically active compounds. A variety of substitution patterns on the aryl boronate ester and the phenol are tolerated under the reaction conditions, providing moderate to high yields. A competition reaction between phenol and aniline revealed condition-dependent selectivity in which the phenol could be highly favored over the aniline.

Copper-catalyzed enantioselective synthesis of β-Boron β-Amino Esters

In this report, the enantioselective, copper-catalyzed borylation of β-amidoacrylates is disclosed. A broad variety of biologically important α-aminoboronates has been prepared with consistently high levels of enantiocontrol using an inexpensive copper catalyst and a commercially available chiral ligand. The method can be applied to the synthesis of novel boron-containing dipeptides and hemiboronates.