Chapter One
MAIN GROUP COMPOUNDS
1. DIBORANE(4) COMPOUNDS
Submitted by M. J. GERALD LESLEY,
NICHOLAS C. NORMAN, and CRAIG R. RICE
Checked by DAVID W. NORMAN and R. TOM BAKER
Diborane(4) compounds are key reagents in transition-metal-catalyzed diboration
and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions. Two of the most widely used
compounds are the pinacolate derivative [B.sub.2][(pin).sub.2] [(pin = OC[Me.sub.2]C[Me.sub.2]O).sup.3] and
the catecholate species [B.sub.2][(cat).sub.2] [(cat = 1,2-[O.sub.2][C.sub.6][H.sub.4]).sup.4], both of which are
prepared from tetrakis(dimethylamino) diborane(4), [B.sub.2][(N[Me.sub.2]).sub.4], described initially
by Brotherton. Detailed preparations for [B.sub.2][(pin).sub.2] and [B.sub.2][(N[Me.sub.2]).sub.4] have been
described in Ref. 3b. Here we present a slightly different preparation for
[B.sub.2][(N[Me.sub.2]).sub.4] together with details of the synthesis of
1,2-[B.sub.2][Cl.sub.2][(N[Me.sub.2]).sup.6.sub.2] and [B.sub.2][(cat).sub.2]. Simple modifications of the
[B.sub.2][(cat).sub.2] synthesis g ... read full excerpt from Inorganic Syntheses ebook
