Metal-Free Photoinduced Halogen-Atom Transfer: A Novel Approach for Tetracoordinate Boron Compound Synthesis and One-Carbon Homologation and Amination of Styrenes.

We introduce a metal-free, mild four-component reaction system that involves vinylarenes, NHC-BH3 complexes, 4-cyanopyridine, and alkyl/aryl/alkenyl iodides, enabling the efficient synthesis of tetracoordinate boron compounds. Furthermore, we showcase the potential utility of this methodology through its application in the functionalization of pharmaceutical molecules as well as in scaled-up and homologation reactions.