Reactivity of a Dihydrodiborene with CO: Coordination, Insertion, Cleavage and Spontaneous Cyclic Alkyne Formation

Under a CO atmosphere the dihydrodiborene [(cAAC)HB=BH(cAAC)] underwent coordination of CO concomitant with reversible hydrogen migration from boron to the carbene carbon atom, as well as reversible CO insertion into the B=B bond. Heating of the CO-adduct resulted in two unusual cAAC ring-expansion products, one presenting a B=C bond to a six-membered 1,2-azaborinane-3-ylidene, the other an unprecedented nine-membered cyclic alkyne resulting from reductive cleavage of CO and spontaneous C≡C triple bond formation