Trapping Of A Borirane Intermediate In The Reductive Coupling Of An Arylborane To A Diborene

The reductive coupling of a N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-stabilized aryldibromoborane yields a mixture of transand cis-diborenes in which the aryl groups are coplanar with the diborene core. Under dilute reduction conditions two diastereomers of a borirane-borane intermediate are isolated, which upon further reduction give rise to the aforementioned diborene mixture. DFT calculations suggest a mechanism proceeding via nucleophilic attack of a dicoordinate borylene intermediate on the aryl ring and subsequent intramolecular B-B bond formation.