A Highly Effective Ruthenium System for the Catalyzed Dehydrogenative Cyclization of Amine-Boranes to Cyclic Boranes under Mild Conditions

We recently disclosed a new ruthenium-catalyzed dehydrogenative cyclization process (CDC) of diamine-monoboranes leading to cyclic diaminoboranes. In the present study, the CDC reaction has been successfully extended to a larger number of diamine-monoboranes (4-7) and to one amine-borane alcohol precursor (8). The corresponding NB(H)N- and NB(H)O-containing cyclic diaminoboranes (12-15) and oxazaborolidine (16) were obtained in good to high yields. Multiple substitution patterns on the starting amine-borane substrates were evaluated and the reaction was also performed with chiral substrates. Efforts have been spent to understand the mechanism of the ruthenium CDC process. In addition to a computational approach, a strategy enabling the kinetic discrimination on successive events of the catalytic process leading to the formation of the NB(H)N linkage was performed on the six-carbon chain diamine-monoborane 21 and completed with a (NNMR)-N-15 study. The long-life bis-sigma-borane ruthenium intermediate 23 possessing a reactive NHMe ending was characterized in situ and proved to catalyze the dehydrogenative cyclization of 1, ascertaining that bis sigma-borane ruthenium complexes are key intermediates in the CDC process.