Commercially available NaOH powder is shown to be an efficient transition-metal-free initiator for the catalytic hydroboration of aldehydes, ketones, alkynes and alkenes with HBpin and 9-BBN under mild conditions. Combined experimental and theoretical studies suggest that the catalytically active species is a boron hydride generated in situ from the reaction mixture.

http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/gc/c7gc01632h#!divAbstract

N-heterocyclic ylide-like germylene effectively promotes the hydroboration of aldehydes and ketones under mild conditions with broad substrate tolerance, operational simplicity of procedure and excellent yields. A key intermediate in this catalytic system featuring a bicyclo[2,2,2]octane-like core has been successfully isolated and characterized, suggesting a new type of mechanism that involves the activation mode that mimics that of transition metal catalysts.