"Activated Borane" - A Porous Borane Cluster Network as an Effective Adsorbent for Removing Organic Pollutants

The unprecedented co-thermolysis of decaborane(14) (nido-B₁₀ H₁₄ ) and toluene results in a novel porous material (that we have named "activated borane") containing micropores between 1.0 and 1.5 nm in diameter and a specific surface area of 774 m²  g^-1 (Ar, 87 K) that is thermally stable up to 1000 °C. Solid state ¹ H, ¹¹ B and ¹³ C MAS NMR, UV-vis and IR spectroscopies suggest an amorphous structure of borane clusters interconnected by toluene moieties in a ratio of about three toluene molecules for every borane cluster. In addition, the structure contains Lewis-acidic tri-coordinated boron sites giving it some unique properties. Activated borane displays high sorption capacity for pollutants such as sulfamethoxazole, tramadol, diclofenac and bisphenol A that exceed the capacity of commercially-available activated carbon. The consistency in properties for each batch made, and the ease of its synthesis, make activated borane a promising porous material worthy of broad attention.