Superelectrophilic Intermediates in Nitrogen-Directed Aromatic Borylation

The first examples of borylation under conditions of borenium ion generation from hydrogen-bridged boron cations are described. The observable H-bridged cations are generated by hydride, abstraction from N,N-dimethylamine boranes Ar(CH2)(n)NMe2BH3 using Ph3C+ (C6F5)(4)B- (TrTPFPB) as the hydride acceptor. In the presence of excess TrTPFPB, the hydrogen-bridged cations undergo internal borylation to afford cyclic amine borane derivatives with n = 1-3. The products are formed as the corresponding cyclic borenium ions according to reductive quenching experiments and B-11 and H-1 NMR spectroscopy in the case with Ar = C6H5 and n = 1. The same cyclic borenium cation is also formed from the substrate with Ar = o-C6H4SiMe3 via desilylation, but the analogous system with Ar = o-C6H4CMe3 affords a unique cyclization product that retains the tert-butyl substituent. An ortho-deuterated substrate undergoes cyclization with a product-determining isotope effect of k(H)/k(D) 2.8. Potential cationic intermediates have been evaluated using B3LYP/6-31G* methods. The computations indicate that internal borylation from 14a occurs via a C-H insertion transition state that is accessible from either the borenium pi complex or from a Wheland intermediate having nearly identical energy. The Ar = o-C6H4SiMe3 example strongly favors formation of the Wheland intermediate, and desilylation occurs via internal SiMe3 migration from carbon to one of the hydrides attached to boron.