Rhodium-Catalyzed β-Dehydroborylation of Silyl Enol Ethers: Access to Highly Functionalized Enolates.

An efficient rhodium-catalyzed β-dehydroborylation of aldehyde-derived silyl enol ethers (SEEs) with bis(pinacolato)diboron (B2pin2) is disclosed. The borylation reactions proceeded well with alkyl- and aryl-substituted SEEs, affording a wide array of valuable functionalized β-boryl silyl enolates with high efficiency and excellent stereoselectivity. Moreover, the borylated products, through versatile carbon-boron bond transformations, were readily converted into diverse synthetically useful molecules, including α-hydroxy ketones, functionalized SEEs, and gem-difunctionalized aldehydes.