C—B and C—Si Bond-Forming Reactions

    Organoboron and -silicon compounds are an important class of organometallics, which can be widely used as versatile building blocks in organic chemistry.
    Our current research interests are mainly in the field of transition-metal-catalyzed C—E bond-forming reactions (E = metalloid element). In 1997, we reported the preparation of metalloid element compounds from the corresponding organic electrophiles by the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling with E—H compounds, such as B—H and Si—H compounds, in the presence of amines. Nowadays, the transition-metal-catalyzed coupling with E—H compounds is a method of choice for the synthesis of functionalized metalloid element compounds.

    Another method of the catalytic C—E bond formation is a direct functionalization of inert and ubiquitous C—H bonds. During the past decade, much attention has been focused on the C—H borylation and silylation, and numerous catalyst systems were reported in the literature for these transformations. In this context, my group became inspired by the potential of using C—H bonds.