Cobalt-catalyzed deoxygenative borylation of diaryl ketones

Geminal diboronates and diarylmethyl boronates are versatile building blocks in synthetic chemistry. We here reported a highly efficient approach for the synthesis of gem-bisborylalkanes and diarylmethyl boronates via cobalt-catalyzed deoxygenative borylation of diaryl ketones. This borylation protocol is compatible with a broad range of functionalized aryl groups, providing access to a wide array of boronic esters. The resulting boronic esters can be further transformed to various cross-coupling products and TPEs that represent important structural motifs in organic chemistry and materials science.