4,5,6,7-Tetrachlorobenzo[d][1,3,2]dioxaborole (4a) and 4,5,6,7-tetrachlorobenzo[d][1,3,2]dioxaborol-2-ol (4b) are effective catalysts for the dehydrative amide condensation between an equimolar mixture of carboxylic acids and amines. In particular, these catalysts are greatly superior to 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylboronic acid (1) for the amide condensation of sterically demanding carboxylic acids. In contrast, 4c, which is prepared from a 1:2 molar mixture of B(OH)3 and tetrachlorocatechol, is effective as a Lewis acid-assisted Bronsted acid (LBA) catalyst for Ritter reaction.
New boron(III)-catalyzed amide and ester condensation reactions
meta- or para-position are highly effective catalysts for the amide condensation reaction in less-polar solvents. In this paper, we report that N-alkyl-4-boronopyridinium halides are more effective catalysts than the previous ones in more polar solvents. N-Alkyl-4-boronopyridinium halides are effective not only for amide condensation between equimolar mixtures of carboxylic acids and amines but also