Scyllo-inositol as a convenient protecting group for aryl boronic acids in Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reactions

Herein, we report air- and water-stable borate complexes between scyllo-inositol and aryl boronic acids. The complexes were less reactive than free aryl boronic acids under Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction conditions; thus, the borate complexes were used as protected boronic acids. Although protecting groups for organoboronic acids are useful in coupling reactions, especially those used to produce π-conjugated molecules, only a few reports describing the use of protecting groups for boronic acids have been published. The proposed unique structural borate complex provides a novel protective method for aryl boronic acids.