Highly Selective Palladium-Catalyzed Hydroborylative Carbocyclization of Bisallenes to Seven-Membered Rings

A highly selective palladium-catalyzed hydroborylative carbocyclization of bisallenes to afford seven-membered rings has been established. This ring-closing coupling reaction showed good functional group compatibility with high chemo- and regioselectivity, as seven-membered ring 3 was the only product obtained. The extensive use of different linkers, including nitrogen, oxygen, malononitrile, and malonate, showed a broad substrate scope for this approach. A one-pot cascade reaction was realized by trapping the primary allylboron compound with an aldehyde, affording a diastereomerically pure alcohol and a quaternary carbon center by formation of a new C-C bond. A comprehensive mechanistic DFT investigation is also presented. The calculations suggest that the reaction proceeds via a concerted hydropalladation pathway from a Pd(0)-olefin complex rather than via a pathway involving a defined palladium hydride species. The reaction was significantly accelerated by the coordination of the pendant olefin, as well as the introduction of suitable substituents in the bridge, due to the Thorpe-Ingold effect.