Reduction of a diamidocarbene-supported borenium cation: isolation of a neutral boryl-substituted radical and a carbene-stabilized aminoborylene

We have synthesized the first diamidocarbene (DAC)-supported borenium salt, [ 3 ][OTf], which was found to readily undergo two sequential 1-electron reductions. The first reduction forms a thermally robust, crystalline boryl-substituted DAC-centred radical ( 3&z.rad; ) which has been fully characterized by XRD, EPR spectroscopy, and DFT analyses. The 1-electron reduction of 3&z.rad; resulted in the formation of a DAC-supported aminoborylene, 4 , which has been characterized computationally and by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. We have synthesized the first diamidocarbene (DAC)-supported borenium salt which was found to readily undergo two sequential 1-electron reductions to give a boryl-substituted DAC-centred radical and a DAC-supported aminoborylene.