N,N-addition of frustrated Lewis pairs to nitric oxide: an easy entry to a unique family of aminoxyl radicals

Frustrated Lewis pair chemistry of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur oxides

Frustrated Lewis pairs have been used to activate a variety of small molecules.

Formylborane formation with frustrated Lewis pair templates

Boranes R2 BH react with carbon monoxide by forming the respective borane carbonyl compounds R2 BH(CO). The formation of (C6 F5 )2 BH(CO) derived from the Piers borane, HB(C6 F5 )2 , is a typical example. Subsequent CO-hydroboration does not take place, since the formation of the formylborane is usually endothermic. However, an "η(2) -formylborane" was formed by CO-hydroboration with the Piers borane at vicinal phosphane/borane frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) templates. Subsequent treatment with pyridine liberated the intact formylborane from the FLP framework, and (pyridine)(C6 F5 )2 BCHO was then isolated as a stable compound. This product underwent typical reactions of carbonyl compounds, such as Wittig olefination.

Carbonylation reactions of intramolecular vicinal frustrated phosphane/borane Lewis pairs

The intramolecular frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) Mes2PCH2CH2B(C6F5)2 4 adds cooperatively to carbon monoxide to form the five-membered heterocyclic carbonyl compound 5. The intramolecular FLP 7 contains an exo-3-B(C6F5)2 Lewis acid and an endo-2-PMes2 Lewis base functionality coordinated at the norbornane framework. This noninteracting FLP adds carbon monoxide in solution at -35 °C cooperatively to yield a five-membered heterocyclic FLP-carbonyl compound 8. In contrast, FLP 7 is carbonylated in a CO-doped argon matrix at 25 K to selectively form a borane carbonyl 9 without involvement of the adjacent phosphanyl moiety. The free FLP 7 was generated in the gas phase from its FLPH2 product 10. A DFT study has shown that the phosphonium hydrido borate zwitterion 10 is formed exergonically in solution but tends to lose H2 when brought into the gas phase.

Frustrated Lewis Pairs: from dihydrogen activation to asymmetric catalysis

The non-self-quenched property of Frustrated Lewis Pairs (FLPs) contradicts the classical Lewis acid-base theory, but this peculiarity offers unprecedented possibilities for the activation of small molecules. Among all of their fascinating applications, FLP mediated hydrogen activation and the associated catalytic hydrogenations are currently considered as the most intriguing illustration of their reactivity. The FLPs enabled the catalytic reduction of a wide range of substrates with molecular hydrogen and tuning of the structural properties of the FLP partners allowed broadening of the substrate scope. Based on detailed mechanistic knowledge, FLP based asymmetric hydrogenation of various substrates could be achieved with high enantioselectivities. More importantly, FLP based enantioselective catalysis is not limited to the field of asymmetric hydrogenation, and other exciting catalytic applications have already appeared.

Tuning the reactivity of TEMPO by coordination to a Lewis acid: isolation and reactivity of MCl3(η1-TEMPO) (M = Fe, Al)

Addition of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl (TEMPO) to MCl(3) (M = Fe, Al) results in the formation of MCl(3)(η(1)-TEMPO) [M = Fe (1), Al (2)]. Both 1 and 2 oxidize alcohols to generate ketones or aldehydes along with the reduced complexes MCl(3)(η(1)-TEMPOH) [M = Fe (3), Al (4)]. Complexes 1-4 were fully characterized, including analysis by X-ray crystallography. Additionally, control experiments indicated that neither MCl(3) (M = Al, Fe) nor TEMPO are capable of effecting the oxidation of alcohols independently.

Polymerization by classical and frustrated Lewis pairs

Main-group classical and frustrated Lewis pairs (CLPs and FLPs) comprising strong Lewis acids (LAs) and strong Lewis bases (LBs) are highly active for polymerization of conjugated polar alkenes, affording typically high molecular weight polymers with relatively narrow molecular weight distributions. Especially effective systems are the Lewis pairs (LPs) consisting of the strong LA Al(C6F5)3 and strong LBs, such as achiral phosphines and chiral chelating diphosphines, N-heterocyclic carbenes, and phosphazene superbases, for polymerization of methacrylates and acrylamides as well as renewable α-methylene-γ-butyrolactones. Chain initiation involves cooperative addition of LPs to the monomer to generate zwitterionic active species, and chain propagation proceeds via a bimetallic, activated-monomer addition mechanism. Transition metal nucleophile/electrophile pairs comprising neutral metallocene bis(ester enolate)s and strong LAs E(C6F5)3 (E = Al, B) generate two drastically different polymerization systems, depending on the LA. With E = Al, catalyst activation and chain initiating events lead to dually active ion-pairs, thereby effecting ion-pairing polymerization that affords polymers with unique stereo-multiblock microstructures. With E = B, on the other hand, the FLP-induced catalyst activation generates metallacyclic cations paired with the hydridoborate anion [HB(C6F5)3](-); uniquely, such ion-pairs effect catalytic polymerization of conjugated polar alkenes by an H-shuttling mechanism, with the cation catalyzing chain growth and the anion promoting chain transfer by shuttling the hydride between the cation and anion centers through the neutral borane.