Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026
Synthesis of a Borylated Ibuprofen Derivative Through Suzuki Cross-Coupling and Alkene Boracarboxylation Reactions
Published on: November 30, 2022
Trifluoromethylboranes and -borates: new synthetic strategies and applications
Maik Finze1, Eduard Bernhardt, Helge Willner
1Institut für Anorganische Chemie und Strukturchemie II, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. maik.finze@uni-duesseldorf.de
Abstract:
The synthesis of salts with the [B(CF(3))(4)](-) anion has been the starting point for new developments in the field of trifluoromethylboron chemistry. In contrast to the previous syntheses of (CF(3))(n)B derivatives (n=1-3), achieved exclusively by CF(3) transfer, the synthesis of the [B(CF(3))(4)](-) anion was accomplished by fluorination of the [B(CN)(4)](-) anion with ClF or ClF(3) in anhydrous HF. Owing to its thermal and chemical stability, [B(CF(3))(4)](-) is an attractive weakly coordinating anion. However, in concentrated sulfuric acid one of the four CF(3) groups is solvolyzed to a CO ligand to yield the neutral borane carbonyl (CF(3))(3)BC[triple bond]O. It has been shown that the borane carbonyl compound is a versatile synthetic building block, and numerous reactions have been investigated. The addition of nucleophiles to the C atom of the CO ligand is favored, and examples for new derivatives are the anions [(CF(3))(3)BC[triple bond]Pnic](-) (Pnic=N, P, As). Under certain conditions, ligand-exchange reactions are also observed, for example, the formation of (CF(3))(3)BN[triple bond]CH. Finally, the borane carbonyl compound is a component of the conjugated Brønsted-Lewis superacid HF/(CF(3))(3)BCO.
Related Concept Videos
03:08Hydroboration-Oxidation of Alkenes
01:13Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Fluorination and Iodination of Benzene
02:47Alkynes to Aldehydes and Ketones: Hydroboration-Oxidation
One of the convenient methods for the preparation of aldehydes and ketones is via hydration of alkynes. Hydroboration-oxidation of alkynes is an indirect hydration reaction in which an alkyne is treated with borane followed by oxidation with alkaline peroxide to form an enol that rapidly converts into an aldehyde or a ketone. Terminal alkynes form aldehydes, whereas internal alkynes give ketones as the final product.
02:36Regioselectivity and Stereochemistry of Hydroboration
Hydroboration proceeds in a concerted fashion with the attack of borane on the π bond, giving a cyclic four-centered transition state. The –BH2 group is bonded to the less substituted carbon and –H to the more substituted carbon. The concerted nature requires the simultaneous addition of –H and –BH2 across the same face of the alkene giving syn stereochemistry.
03:24Hybridization of Atomic Orbitals I
02:15Preparation of Alcohols via Addition Reactions
The acid-catalyzed addition of water to the double bond of alkenes is a large-scale industrial method used to synthesize low-molecular-weight alcohols. An acidic atmosphere is required to allow the hydrogen in the water molecule to act as an electrophile and attack the double bond in an alkene. The addition of a proton to the double bond creates a carbocation intermediate. The proton preferentially bonds to the less substituted end of the double bond to create a more stable carbocation...