Magnesium halide-catalyzed hydroboration of isocyanates and ketones.

Alkaline-earth metals have attracted increasing attention because they are cheap, Earth abundant and environmentally friendly, and have gradually become inexpensive and sustainable alternatives to traditional precious transition metal catalysts in many organic reactions. Recently, the hydroboration of unsaturated organic substrates has been extensively investigated. However, reports on alkaline-earth metal catalyzed hydroboration of isocyanates and ketones are rare. Herein, we report that simple, commercially available, and air-stable magnesium halides have been successfully employed as highly efficient catalysts in the hydroboration of isocyanates and ketones. Various boronate products were obtained in high yields with low catalyst loading under mild conditions.