Ga/P-Based Ambiphilic Chelates and Their Reactivities with Main Group Elements
The synthesis of two ambiphilic Ga/P-containing frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) [<sup>i</sup>Pr<sub>2</sub>P(C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>4</sub>)GaMes<sub>2</sub>] (<b>PGa</b><sup><b>Mes2</b></sup>, <b>1</b>, Mes = 2,4,6-Me<sub>3</sub>C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>2</sub>) and [{<sup>i</sup>Pr<sub>2</sub>P(C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>4</sub>)}<sub>2</sub>GaMes] (<b>P</b><sub><b>2</b></sub><b>Ga</b><sup><b>Mes</b></sup>, <b>2</b>) is reported. Motivated by the possibly higher degrees of Lewis acidity at the Ga centers in <b>1</b> and <b>2</b> compared to known-boron based chelates, these new Ga/P FLPs were reacted with soft main group elements, such as Te, as well as exploration of their ability to coordinate the parent aminoborane H<sub>2</sub>B-NH<sub>2</sub> (generated via the dehydrogenation of H<sub>3</sub>B·NH<sub>3</sub>). In contrast to the known/stable chelate [<sup>i</sup>Pr<sub>2</sub>P(C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>4</sub>)BCy<sub>2</sub>{H<sub>2</sub>BNH<sub>2</sub>}] (Cy = cyclohexyl), the corresponding Ga/P adduct [<b>P</b><sub><b>2</b></sub><b>Ga</b><sup><b>Mes</b></sup><b>{H</b><sub><b>2</b></sub><b>BNH</b><sub><b>2</b></sub><b>}</b>] (<b>8</b>) is unstable and releases B-N units such as borazine [HBNH]<sub>3</sub> over time, which is partially attributed to a hard-soft acid-base mismatch between N and Ga.
Authors
- Qiannan Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2105-0424)
- Ludwig Zapf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2852-3751)
- Michael J. Ferguson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5221-4401)
- Eric Rivard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0360-0090)
Institutions
- University of Alberta (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Inorganic Chemistry
- Published
- 2025-11-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5c04489
- Primary Topic
- Organoboron and organosilicon chemistry
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00