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Updated: Feb 10, 2026

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
Published on: March 24, 2018
XBphos-Rh: a halogen-bond assembled supramolecular catalyst
Lucas Carreras1, Marta Serrano-Torné1, Piet W N M van Leeuwen2
1Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) , The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , Av. Països Catalans 16 , 43007 Tarragona , Spain .
Abstract:
The use of halogen bonding as a tool to construct a catalyst backbone is reported. Specifically, pyridyl- and iodotetrafluoroaryl-substituted phosphines were assembled in the presence of a rhodium(i) precursor to form the corresponding halogen-bonded complex XBphos-Rh. The presence of fluorine substituents at the iodo-containing supramolecular motif was not necessary for halogen bonding to occur due to the template effect exerted by the rhodium center during formation of the halogen-bonded complex. The halogen-bonded supramolecular complexes were successfully tested in the catalytic hydroboration of terminal alkynes.
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When atoms gain or lose electrons to achieve a more stable electron configuration they form ions. Ionic bonds are electrostatic attractions between ions with opposite charges. Ionic compounds are rigid and brittle when solid and may dissociate into their constituent ions in water. Covalent compounds, by contrast, remain intact unless a chemical reaction breaks them.
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