Oxidation, Coordination, and Nickel-Mediated Deconstruction of a Highly Electron-Rich Diboron Analogue of 1,3,5-Hexatriene

Abstract

The reductive coupling of an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) stabilized (dibromo)vinylborane yields a 1,2-divinyldiborene, which, although isoelectronic to a 1,3,5-triene, displays no extended π conjugation because of twisting of the C2B2C2 chain. While this divinyldiborene coordinates to copper(I) and platinum(0) in an η2-B2 and η4-C2B2 fashion, respectively, it undergoes a complex rearrangement to an η4-1,3-diborete upon complexation with nickel(0).