Vicinal diboronates in high enantiomeric purity through tandem site-selective NHC-Cu-catalyzed boron-copper additions to terminal alkynes.

A Cu-catalyzed protocol for conversion of terminal alkynes to enantiomerically enriched diboronates is reported. In a single vessel, a site-selective hydroboration of an alkyne leads to the corresponding terminal vinylboronate, which undergoes a second site-selective and enantioselective hydroboration. Reactions proceed in the presence of 2 equiv of commercially available bis(pinacolato)diboron [B(2)(pin)(2)] and 5-7.5 mol % loading of a chiral bidentate imidazolinium salt, affording diboronates in 60-93% yield and up to 97.5:2.5 enantiomeric ratio (er). The enantiomerically enriched products can be functionalized to afford an assortment of versatile organic molecules. Enynes are converted to unsaturated diboronates with high chemo- (>98% reaction of alkyne; <2% at alkene) and enantioselectivity (e.g., 94.5:5.5 er).