Cu-Catalyzed Stereo- and Regioselective Diborylation and trans -Protoborylation of 1,3-Enynes

As multifunctional chemical tools, organodiboron compounds present an important challenge in organic synthesis, with respect to their synthesis and functionalization. Although readily available 1,3-enynes have been employed as a platform for various regioselective difunctionalization reactions, the diborylation reactions of 1,3-enynes remain limited, and the installation of a CF3 group is often a prerequisite. In this study, we report a copper-catalyzed selective diborylation reaction of 1,3-enynes to access synthetically useful 1,1- and 1,4-diborylalkenes. The synthetic utility of this method is demonstrated by a gram-scale synthesis of a natural antifouling agent. Furthermore, the Cu-catalyzed trans-protoborylation reaction of aryl-substituted (Z)-enynes is reported. The thorough computational studies and the deuterium-labeling experiments provide insights into the reaction mechanism and the regio- and stereoselectivity of diborylated products.