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Updated: Jun 6, 2025

Preparation and Reactivity of a Triphosphenium Bromide Salt: A Convenient and Stable Source of PhosphorusI
Published on: November 22, 2016
Steric Selection of Anion Binding Sites by Organoantimony(V) Pnictogen Bond Donors: An Experimental and Computational
Brendan L Murphy1, Logan T Maltz1, François P Gabbaï1
1Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3255, United States.
Abstract:
Catecholatostiboranes have emerged as useful Lewis acids in several applications. To better understand the factors that control the properties of these species, we examined the Lewis acidities of (o-C6Cl4O2)Sb(o-Tol)3 (2, Tol = tolyl) and (o-C6Cl4O2)Sb(p-Tol)3 (3), two triarylcatecholatostiboranes that differ by the nature of the aryl substituent. Fluoride anion binding studies indicate that 3 is more Lewis acidic than 2, a factor readily assigned to the steric crowding around antimony in the case of the o-tolyl derivative. But, while 3 binds F- trans to a Sb-Caryl bond as is typical of catecholatostiboranes, 2 prefers binding trans to a Sb-O bond. Computational analyses of 2 and 3 reveal the existence of several σ holes, and an activation strain analysis is employed to elucidate the origin of these stiboranes' anion-binding geometry preferences.
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