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Published on: November 22, 2016
Bis(phosphine)boronium salts. Synthesis, structures and coordination chemistry
Timothy A Shuttleworth1, Miguel A Huertos, Indrek Pernik
1Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX1 3TA. andrew.weller@chem.ox.ac.uk.
Researchers synthesized bis(phosphine)boronium salts and explored their hydrogen bonding. These salts react with rhodium complexes, forming novel ligands and offering insights into catalytic dehydrocoupling reactions.
Area of Science:
- Organometallic Chemistry
- Coordination Chemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Bis(phosphine)boronium salts represent a class of compounds with potential applications in catalysis.
- Understanding the interactions within these salts, particularly hydrogen bonding, is crucial for their reactivity.
- Rhodium complexes are widely used catalysts, and their interaction with phosphine-based ligands is of significant interest.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize a range of bis(phosphine)boronium salts with varying phosphine substituents and counter anions.
- To investigate the hydrogen bonding interactions present in these salts in both solid-state and solution.
- To explore the reactivity of these boronium salts with rhodium complexes and to characterize the resulting organometallic compounds.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of bis(phosphine)boronium salts [(R2HP)2BH2][X] with R = Ph, (t)Bu, Cy and X = Br, [OTf], [BAr(F)4].
- Solid-state characterization using X-ray diffraction.
- Solution characterization using NMR spectroscopy.
- Reactions with rhodium complexes (RhH(PPh3)3 and [Rh(P(i)Bu3)2(PPh3)][BAr(F)4]) followed by characterization (X-ray crystallography).
Main Results:
- Successful synthesis of diverse bis(phosphine)boronium salts.
- Evidence of weak hydrogen bonding between the boronium cation and various anions, with strength varying based on the anion.
- Formation of novel rhodium-phosphine-borane complexes through reactions with the synthesized salts, showcasing β-B-agostic interactions.
- Direct assembly of phosphino-borane ligands on rhodium centers.
Conclusions:
- Bis(phosphine)boronium salts can engage in significant hydrogen bonding interactions, influencing their properties.
- These salts serve as precursors to unique ligands that can coordinate to rhodium centers.
- The observed reactivity provides mechanistic insights into rhodium-catalyzed dehydrocoupling reactions of phosphine boranes.
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