Reversible dehydrogenation of a primary aryl borane

Area of Science:

• Organometallic chemistry
• Boron chemistry
• Homogeneous catalysis

Background:

• Activation of B-H bonds is crucial for boron chemistry.
• Rhodium complexes are effective catalysts for various transformations.
• Understanding the reactivity of boron fragments is key for developing new synthetic methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the activation of B-H bonds in mesitylborane using a rhodium(I) complex.
• To investigate the dehydrogenative extrusion of a {BMes} fragment.
• To explore the reactivity of the resulting boron-containing rhodium complex.

Main Methods:

• Reaction of mesitylborane with a 16-electron rhodium(I) monocarbonyl complex.
• Isolation and characterization of the rhodium-mesitylborane complex.
• Studies on the reactivity of the complex with dihydrogen and its role in group transfer.

Main Results:

• The rhodium complex successfully activated B-H bonds in mesitylborane.
• A {BMes} fragment was extruded and isolated as a rhodium complex.
• The complex facilitated the reversible interconversion of {BMes} with dihydrogen.
• The complex demonstrated formal group transfer capabilities.

Conclusions:

• The rhodium complex enables the activation and transfer of boron-containing fragments.
• Dihydrogen can be reversibly stored and released via this system.
• {BAr} fragments generated through dehydrogenation are reactive intermediates.