The hydrogenative cleavage of EÀE bonds has been dem-
onstrated in a number of different systems. Reactive GaÀ
Ga, InÀIn, and AlÀAl bonds can be broken without transi-
Table 1. Synthesis of HBcat and HBpin with Pt/C as a catalyst; reactions
were carried out in toluene, unless otherwise stated.
Entry Borane Catalyst loading
[mol%]
H
2
pressure
[bar]
T
t
TON
[9]
[8C] [h] (GC)
tion-metal (TM) catalysts, as can EÀE bonds in digermyl-
[10]
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
HBcat
HBpin
2.5
2.5
1
1
5
5
1
1
1
5
5
5
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
1
5
1
5
1
5
5
1
5
5
2
4
4
13
8
ACHTUNGTRENNUNGe nes and distannylenes. An example of the cleavage of a
more-stable EÀE bond is the hydrogenolysis of ClMe SiÀ
2
SiMe Cl. The SiÀSi bond is broken under homogeneous cat-
2
[11]
alytic conditions with [Pt
A
H
U
G
R
N
U
G
A
3
4
2
very similar reaction to the intended hydrogenolysis of
B cat /B pin is the deuterolysis of B pin reported by Hart-
15
10
11
21
18
[
a]
2
2
2
2
2
2
wig and co-workers. In that case, DBpin was generated in a
homogenous catalytic reaction with an iridium catalyst;
however, this technique was used only in one instance and
[a]
1
[
a] THF was used as the solvent.
[12]
was not developed further.
Hartwig et al. reported that the reductive elimination of
HBpin from [CpRhH (Bpin) ] was favored over the elimina-
A
H
U
G
R
N
U
G
measurements confirmed the formation of trace amounts of
2
2
[13]
+
tion of B pin .
Thus, we reasoned that the equilibrium
HBcat (m/z: 120 [M] ), which corresponded to a very small
2
2
should lead to the respective hydroborane on the introduc-
tion of dihydrogen gas to diboranes(4). Herein, we present
our results concerning the synthesis of hydroboranes Bpin,
HBcat, and HBneop through the hydrogenolysis of the BÀB
TON of 2. Prolonging the reaction time to 5 h doubled the
TON to 4. Under higher H pressure (5 bar), TONs of 4
2
(1 h) and 13 (5 h) were obtained.
For the synthesis of HBpin, slightly better results were ob-
tained with Pt/C (Table 1, entries 5–10). On heating the re-
bonds in their respective B (OR) compounds under hetero-
2
4
geneous catalysis.
action at 808C under 1 bar H pressure in toluene, the TON
2
was 8 after 1 h and 15 after 5 h. By increasing the hydrogen
pressure to 5 bar, the TON was improved to 11 (1 h) and 21
(5 h). The formation of HBpin was confirmed by the appear-
Results and Discussion
[4c,d]
ance of a doublet at d=28.4 ppm (J=173 Hz)
in the
1
1
Because our best dehydrocoupling results were obtained by
using heterogeneous Group 10 catalysts, such as platinum or
palladium, on charcoal or aluminum oxide,
B NMR spectra and by GCMS measurements (m/z: 128
+
[M] ). Because of its superior solubility, B pin could also be
2
2
[7a,b]
we used
reacted with H in other solvents; for example, reaction in
2
these catalysts in our initial attempts at the hydrogenolysis
of diboranes(4). These catalysts had the additional benefit
of being easily removable and reusable after the reaction.
For proof of principle, the catalyst was added in quite large
amounts (2–3 mol%) to a suspension of the diborane in tol-
uene. After degassing the mixture, hydrogen gas was intro-
duced and the pressure, reaction temperature, and reaction
time were varied. The reaction was monitored by GCMS
THF gave similar TONs (Table 1, entries 7 and 10).
In addition to the doublet signal for HBcat (29 ppm) and
[14]
the signal for B cat (30 ppm), another broad signal at d=
2
2
22 ppm was detected in every spectrum, which we assumed
to be the decomposition product B cat , as well as trace
2
3
[5b,15,16]
amounts of catBOBcat and/or HOBcat.
The genera-
tion of these side products is well-documented in cases in
which these diboranes and boranes are exposed to harsh re-
action conditions. The longer the reaction solutions were
11
and by B NMR spectroscopy; the latter technique con-
firmed the formation of the respective hydroborane by the
appearance of a doublet signal. Initial qualitative evaluation
of the progress of the reaction was made by assessment of
the relative intensities of the signals of the diborane, the
borane, and the decomposition products. The turnover num-
bers (TONs) were estimated by using GCMS measurements.
Our first attempts were performed by using Pt on alumi-
num-oxide pellets, which we had previously found to be the
most-effective catalyst for the synthesis of diborane(4). Be-
cause the reaction of B cat at 808C under 1 bar H pressure
stirred at 808C and the higher the H pressure, the more of
2
these side products that were formed. The same observa-
tions were made for the pinacol derivative. Aside from the
doublet signal for HBpin (d=28 ppm) and B pin (d=
2
2
[6d]
30 ppm),
a broad signal, which corresponded to B pin ,
2 3
pinBOBpin, and/or HOBpin, was observed at d=
[16,17]
21 ppm.
To improve on these results, analogous palladium catalysts
were applied to these reactions (Table 2). Under the same
conditions as implemented for Pt on charcoal, palladium on
charcoal gave much-better results for both boranes.
2
2
2
in toluene showed no formation of borane after 5 h or even
after a prolonged reaction time with a higher catalyst load-
ing, we used Pt on charcoal (10 wt.% Pt, 2.5 mol%) to in-
crease the surface area that was available for the reaction
and to ensure better mixing of the reactants (Table 1,
entry 1–4). After stirring for 1 h at 808C under an atmos-
1
1
B NMR spectra of the reaction solution showed the quan-
titative transformation of diborane into borane. After stir-
ring for 1 h at 808C with 1 bar H in toluene, a tenfold-
2
higher TON (48) was found for HBcat compared to the cor-
responding Pt-catalyzed reaction. A signal for B cat2 was
2
pheric pressure of H in toluene, a weak doublet signal at
d=28.8 ppm (J=192 Hz) was detected for HBcat. GCMS
not detected by GC. Longer reaction times decreased the
TON, owing to the increased formation of side products.
2
[5b]
14832
ꢂ 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Chem. Eur. J. 2013, 19, 14831 – 14835