Selective hydroboration of unsaturated bonds by an easily accessible heterotopic cobalt catalyst

Abstract

Homogeneous earth-abundant metal catalysis based on well-defined metal complexes is of interest for organic synthesis, but typically employs expensive catalysts, air sensitive or synthetically challenging chemicals. Here, the authors report an efficient and regio-selective catalytic system for hydroboration of vinylarenes and organic nitriles with HBPin, using commercially available CoI2 and KO t Bu under ligand-free conditions.