Stereodivergent Hydroboration of Allenes

Full details of a stereodivergent hydroboration of allenes are reported. While hydroboration of an allene with 9-BBN provided a thermodynamically stable (E)-allylic alcohol after oxidative work-up, the reaction of an identical allene with HB(Sia)2 (disiamylborane) formed a (Z)-allylic alcohol as the kinetic product. The developed conditions allowed for the synthesis of trisubstituted olefins in a highly stereoselective fashion, which is known to be challenging. The method was also applied to the stereodivergent synthesis of structural motifs such as skipped dienes and allylbenzenes, which are often embedded in biologically active natural products.