Thermal, catalytic, regiospecific functionalization of alkanes

The formation of a single product from terminal functionalization of linear alkanes from a transition metal-catalyzed reaction is reported. The rhodium complex Cp*Rh(eta(4)-C(6)Me(6)) (Cp*, C(5)Me(5); Me, methyl) catalyzes the high-yield formation of linear alkylboranes from commercially available borane reagents under thermal conditions. These reactions now allow catalytic, regiospecific functionalization of alkanes under thermal conditions. The organoborane products are among the most versatile synthetic intermediates in chemistry and serve as convenient precursors to alcohols, amines, and other common classes of functionalized molecules.

Catalytic, Regiospecific End-Functionalization of Alkanes: Rhenium-Catalyzed Borylation under Photochemical Conditions.

Approaching a Holy Grail? A regioselective functionalization of alkanes occurs with commercially available rhenium catalysts and borane reagents under photochemical conditions [Eq. (1)]. Mechanistic studies indicate that the regioselectivity results from a direct thermal reaction of a photochemically generated 16-electron boryl complex with alkane.