Building Electron-Precise BoronBoron Single Bonds: Imposing Monogamy on a Promiscuous Element

The construction of BB bonds has recently become a major goal in synthetic chemistry owing to the intense interest in diboranes(4) as reagents for organic chemistry. Historically, synthetic methods suitable for this transformation are rare and most come with significant disadvantages. This article summarizes recent efforts by our group and others to provide new, mild, functional-group-tolerant, and convenient synthetic methods for the formation of electron-precise BB single bonds.