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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Characterizing Lewis Pairs Using Titration Coupled with In Situ Infrared Spectroscopy
Published on: February 20, 2020
P(v) dications: carbon-based Lewis acid initiators for hydrodefluorination
Alexander E Waked1, Saurabh S Chitnis1, Douglas W Stephan1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George St., Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada. douglas.stephan@utoronto.ca.
Abstract:
The P(iii) dication [(terpy)PPh]2+ is oxidized by reaction with o-chloranil or 9,10-phenanthrenequinone to give the P(v) dications [(terpy)(C6Cl4O2)PPh]2+ and [(terpy)(C14H8O2)PPh]2+, respectively. These species are coordinatively saturated at phosphorus and yet display the ability to effect Lewis acid initiation of hydrodefluorination of fluoroalkanes. Experimental and computational data support the notion that the P(v) dications are Lewis acidic at the para-carbon of the central ring of the terpy ligand.
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