1,2-Azaborine’s Distinct Electronic Structure Unlocks Two New Regioisomeric Building Blocks via Resolution Chemistry

Two new 1,2-azaborine building blocks that enable the broad diversification of previously not readily accessible C4 and C5 ring positions of the 1,2-azaborine heterocycle are developed. 1,2-Azaborine's distinct electronic structure allowed the resolution of a mixture of C4- and C5-borylated 1,2-azaborines. The connection between the electronic structure of C4 and C5 positions of 1,2-azaborine and their distinct reactivity patterns is revealed by a combination of reactivity studies and kinetic measurements that are supported by DFT calculations. Specifically, we show that oxidation by N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMO) is selective for the C4-borylated 1,2-azaborine, and the Ir-catalyzed deborylation is selective for the C5-borylated 1,2-azaborine via kinetically controlled processes. On the other hand, ligand exchange with diethanolamine takes place selectively with the C4-borylated isomer via a thermodynamically controlled process. These results represent the first examples for chemically distinguishing a mixture of two aryl mono-Bpin-substituted isomers.