Tetrahydroxydiboron-Mediated Palladium-Catalyzed Transfer Hydrogenation and Deuteriation of Alkenes and Alkynes Using Water as the Stoichiometric H or D Atom Donor

There are few examples of catalytic transfer hydrogenations of simple alkenes and alkynes that use water as a stoichiometric H or D atom donor. We have found that diboron reagents efficiently mediate the transfer of H or D atoms from water directly onto unsaturated C-C bonds using a palladium catalyst. This reaction is conducted on a broad variety of alkenes and alkynes at ambient temperature, and boric acid is the sole byproduct. Mechanistic experiments suggest that this reaction is made possible by a hydrogen atom transfer from water that generates a Pd-hydride intermediate. Importantly, complete deuterium incorporation from stoichiometric D2O has also been achieved.