Borylative allyl–allyl coupling using allenes, bis(pinacolato)diboron, and allyl phosphates has been developed in the presence of a copper catalyst bearing an N-heterocyclic carbene ligand. The reaction affords boryl-substituted 1,5-diene derivatives in good to high yields with high regioselectivity and Z selectivity.

Borylative allyl–allyl coupling using allenes, bis(pinacolato)diboron, and allyl phosphates has been developed in the presence of a copper catalyst bearing an N-heterocyclic carbene ligand. The reaction affords boryl-substituted 1,5-diene derivatives in good to high yields with high regioselectivity and Z selectivity.

The highly selective copper-catalyzed hydroboration of allenes has been developed. Allylboranes and alkenylboranes were selectively prepared by the judicious choice of catalytic species (copper hydride and boryl copper). Furthermore, two types of alkenylboranes could be selectively synthesized by the choice of an appropriate ligand. Mechanistic studies confirmed that the protonation of a (Z)-σ-allyl copper species, which was isolated and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, was a key step in these reactions. Besides allenes, this method is also applicable to the selective hydroboration of 1,3-diene derivatives to afford allylboranes and homoallylboranes.

A copper catalyst bearing a suitable Xantphos derivative or NHC ligand was found to be highly efficient for the selective semihydrogenation of non-polar unsaturated compounds using a mixture of a silane and an alcohol as reducing agent. The catalytic system was useful for the selective semihydrogenation of internal alkynes to (Z)-alkenes with suppression of overreduction to the corresponding alkanes. Furthermore, semihydrogenations of terminal alkyne, 1,2-diene, 1,3-diene, 1,3-enyne and 1,3-diyne systems were also achieved selectively.

A highly efficient hydroesterification of alkynes employing aryl formates has been developed without the use of external carbon monoxide and at ambient pressure. The reaction in the presence of a palladium-xantphos catalyst system selectively affords α,β-unsaturated esters in good to high yields. Use of an aryl formate is crucial and alkyl formates did not react at all. The hydroesterification of norbornene and terminal alkenes also readily proceeded under similar reaction conditions. A mechanistic study showed that conversion of aryl formates to carbon monoxide and phenol derivatives occurred in the hydroesterification. Xantphos is highly effective as a ligand both in the conversion of aryl formates and the hydroesterification reactions.