Tetrahydroxydiboron

Chemical compound From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tetrahydroxydiboron is a reagent which has several uses in organic synthesis,[2] notably as a precursor for boronic acids used in Suzuki-Miyaura couplings[3]

Quick facts Names, Identifiers ...
Tetrahydroxydiboron
Names
IUPAC name
Hypoboric acid[1]
Other names
(Dihydroxyboranyl)boronic acid
Hypoboric acid
Hypodiboric acid
Sub-boric acid (Unterborsäure in German)
1,1,2,2-Tetrahydroxydiborane
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEBI
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.222.662 Edit this at Wikidata
UNII
  • InChI=1S/B2H4O4/c3-1(4)2(5)6/h3-6H
    Key: SKOWZLGOFVSKLB-UHFFFAOYSA-N
  • B(B(O)O)(O)O
Properties
B2H4O4
Molar mass 89.65 g·mol−1
Appearance White powder
Density 1.657
very soluble
Solubility ethanol, DMF, DMSO, DMA
Structure
monoclinic P21/c
Thermochemistry
125.46 J K1 mol1
1410.43 kJ mol1
Hazards
GHS labelling:
H302, H315, H319, H332, H335
P261, P264, P270, P271, P280, P301+P312, P302+P352, P304+P312, P304+P340, P305+P351+P338, P312, P321, P330, P332+P313, P337+P313, P362, P403+P233, P405, P501
Related compounds
Related compounds
Diborane
Diboron tetrafluoride
Bis(pinacolato)diboron
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Synthesis

The reaction of boron trichloride with alcohols was reported in 1931, and was used to prepare dimethoxyboron chloride, B(OCH3)2Cl.[4] Egon Wiberg and Wilhelm Ruschmann used it to prepare tetrahydroxydiboron by first introducing the boronboron bond by reduction with sodium and then hydrolysing the resulting tetramethoxydiboron, B2(OCH3)4, to produce what they termed sub-boric acid.[5] The methanol used in this process can be recycled:

BCl3     B(OCH3)2Cl     B2(OCH3)4     B2(OH)4

Overall: 2 BCl3 + 2 Na + 4 H2O  B2(OH)4 + 2 NaCl + 4 HCl

Reactions

Tetrahydrodiboron can be used in the Miyaura borylation of aryl halides and pseudo-halides to form aryl boronic acids,[6] which are key components in Suzuki-Miyaura couplings.[7] Tetrahydroxydiboron has also been shown to be a reducing agent for nitro groups, providing an alternative to reactions involving hydrogen gas.[8]

Safety

Although tetrahydroxydiboron has been shown not to be shock or friction sensitive in the solid state, differential scanning calorimetry shows the compound decomposes with significant energy release starting at 90 °C,[9] which may be related to the dehydration to a polymeric boron(II) oxide.[10] Similar thermal instability is observed in solution with organic solvents like DMF and DMSO.[11] An additional safety consideration when using tetrahydroxydiboron is that upon exposure to water, tetrahydroxydiboron decomposes to form for two equivalents of boric acid and one equivalent of hydrogen gas.[12]

References

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