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Alkynophilicity of Group 13 MX3 Salts: A Theoretical Study
Shengwen Yang1,2, Aurélien Alix1, Christophe Bour1
1Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux d'Orsay (ICMMO), CNRS UMR 8182, Université Paris-Saclay, Bâtiment 420, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France.
Abstract:
The concept of alkynophilicity is revisited with group 13 MX3 metal salts (M = In, Ga, Al, B; X = Cl, OTf) using M06-2X/6-31+G(d,p) calculations. This study aims at answering why some of these salts show reactivity toward enynes that is similar to that observed with late-transition-metal complexes, notably Au(I) species, and why some of them are inactive. For this purpose, the mechanism of the skeletal reorganization of 1,6-enynes into 1-vinylcyclopentenes has been computed, including monomeric ("standard") and dimeric (superelectrophilic) activation. Those results are confronted with deactivation pathways based on the dissociation of the M-X bond. The role of the X ligand in the stabilization of the intermediate nonclassical carbocation is revealed, and the whole features required to make a good π-Lewis acid are discussed.
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