Iridium-Catalyzed Silylation of Five-Membered Heteroarenes: High Sterically Derived Selectivity from a Pyridyl-Imidazoline Ligand.

The steric effects of substituents on five-membered rings are less pronounced than those on six-membered rings because of the difference in bond angles. Thus, the regioselectivities of reactions of five-membered heteroarenes that occur with selectivities dictated by steric effects, such as the borylation of C-H bonds, have been poor in many cases. We report that the silylation of five-membered-ring heteroarenes occurs with high sterically derived regioselectivity when catalyzed by the combination of [Ir(cod)(OMe)]2 (cod=1,5-cyclooctadiene) and a phenanthroline ligand or a new pyridyl-imidazoline ligand that further increases the regioselectivity. The silylation reactions with these catalysts produce high yields of heteroarylsilanes from functionalization at the most sterically accessible C-H bonds of these rings under conditions that the borylation of C-H bonds with previously reported catalysts formed mixtures of products or products that are unstable. The heteroarylsilane products undergo cross-coupling reactions and substitution reactions with ipso selectivity to generate heteroarenes that bear halogen, aryl, and perfluoroalkyl substituents.