Rhodium-catalyzed hydroborations of allylamine and allylimines

The in situ rhodium-catalyzed addition of catecholborane (HBcat, cat = 1,2-O2C6H4) and pinacolborane (HBpin, pin = 1,2-O2C2Me4) to allylamine, allylimine, 2- and 4-vinylpyridines, and a thienyl imine has been examined using multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. Although reactions of allylamine (H2NCH2CH=CH2) and HBcat gave Complex product distributions arising from competing dehydrogenative borylation pathways, addition of HBpin to allylamine using a rhodium catalyst afforded only products arising from hydroboration (RN(Bpin)CH(2)CH(2)CH(2)Bpin, where R = H, Bpin) and hydrogenation (RN(Bpin)CH2CH2CH3). Hydroboration of allylimines (RHC=NCH2CH=CH2, R = Ar) with HBcat occurs initially at the more reactive imine functionality to give unsaturated borylamines (RCH2N(Bcat)CH2CH=CH2). Further reaction with HBcat gives varying amounts of hydroboration products RCH2N(Bcat)CH(2)CH(2)CH(2)Beat and RCH2N(Bcat)CH2CH(Bcat)CH3 as well as the diboration product RCH2N(Bcat)CH2CH2CH(Bcat)(2), depending on the choice of catalyst. Reactions with related unsaturated pyridine derivatives are complicated by extensive degradation, which can be avoided by coordination of the pyridine nitrogen to a Lewis acid. The first examples of metal-catalyzed hydroboration of imines using HBpin are also reported.