Group 4 Metallocenes Supported on Sulfated Zirconium Oxide Catalyze Benzene C–H Borylation

C-H bond functionalization of arenes with boranes continues to be a challenge in catalysis, with late transition and rare earth metals shown to be catalytically active. In this study, group 4 metallocenes grafted onto acidic sulfated zirconia (SZO) are demonstrated to catalyze arene borylation with pinacolborane (HBpin). Catalysis studies at partial HBpin conversions (59-68%) using Cp2M(Me)/SZO (M = Ti, Zr, or Hf; Cp = cyclopentadienyl) catalysts reveal that Zr exhibits greater selectivity and activity than Ti and Hf. At 0.16 mol % of Zr, Cp2ZrMe/SZO achieves 332 turnovers at high HBpin conversion (86%), making this catalyst comparably active to previously reported Ir and Rh C-H borylation catalysts. At 160 °C, a maximum chemoselectivity of 82% for PhBpin was observed at 24% HBpin conversion. The superior activity of ionic Cp2ZrMe/SZO compared to neutral Cp2ZrMe/SiO2 demonstrates the borylation mechanism relies on the highly electrophilic, coordinatively unsaturated cationic sites stabilized by the weakly coordinating sulfated support. Furthermore, both catalysts significantly outperform their molecular analogues, Cp2ZrMe2 and Cp2ZrMeB(C6F5)4, suggesting that the support enhances catalytic performance by stabilizing the active species.