Energy Decomposition Analysis of Lewis Acid/Base Adducts and Frustrated Lewis Pairs: The Use of EOrb/ESteric Ratios as a Reaction Parameter

The Field of Main Group Lewis Acids and Lewis Superacids: Important Basics and Recent Developments

New developments in the field of Lewis acidity are highlighted, with the focus of novel Lewis acids and Lewis superacids of group 2, 13, 14, and 15 elements. Several important basics, illustrated by modern examples (classification of Donor-Acceptor (DA) complexes, amphoteric nature of any compound in terms of DA interactions, reorganization energies of main group Lewis acids and the role of the energies of frontier orbitals) are presented and discussed. It is emphasized that the Lewis acidity phenomena are general and play vital role in different areas of chemistry: from weak "atomophilic" interactions to the complexes of Lewis superacids.

Infrared Spectroscopy Evidence of Weak Interactions in Frustrated Lewis Pairs Formed by Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane

Frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) have been widely investigated as promising catalysts due to their metal-free feature and ability to activate small molecules. Since their discovery, many works have been investigating how these Lewis pairs (intermolecular pairs) are held together in an encounter complex. This prompted several studies based on theoretical investigations, but experimental ones are limited yet. In this communication we show evidence of weak intermolecular interactions between Lewis acids and Lewis bases, distinguishing the Lewis adduct from FLPs, by probing fluorine-carbon vibrational modes using infrared spectroscopy. The main evidence is based on the band shifts occurring in FLPs due to weak hydrogen bonds between the hydrogen atoms of the Lewis base and the fluorine atoms of Lewis acid.

Activation of Small Molecules and Hydrogenation of CO2 Catalyzed by Frustrated Lewis Pairs

The chemistry of frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) is widely explored in the activation of small molecules, the hydrogenation of CO2, and unsaturated organic species. A survey of several experimental works on the activation of small molecules by FLPs and the related mechanistic insights into their reactivity from electronic structure theory calculation are provided in the present review, along with the catalytic hydrogenation of CO2. The mechanistic insight into H2 activation is thoroughly discussed, which may provide a guideline to design more efficient FLP for H2 activation. FLPs can activate other small molecules like, CO, NO, CO2, SO2, N2O, alkenes, alkynes, etc. by cooperative action of the Lewis centers of FLPs, as revealed by several computational analyses. The activation barrier of H2 and other small molecules by the FLP can be decreased by utilizing the aromaticity criterion in the FLP as demonstrated by the nucleus independent chemical shift (NICS) analysis. The term boron-ligand cooperation (BLC), which is analogous to the metal-ligand cooperation (MLC), is invoked to describe a distinct class of reactivity of some specific FLPs towards H2 activation.