A facile and convenient synthesis of functionalized ortho-nitrophenylboronic acids

A variety of ortho-nitrophenylboronic acids bearing functional groups such as cyano, nitro, halo, α-bromomethyl, and ester were prepared in good yields via I–Mg exchange followed by quenching with trimethyl borate. All reagents employed in this procedure are commercially available and were used without further purification, and the procedure can be executed in about an hour.