Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.60, No.6, 3794-3806, 2021
Diphosphinoboranes as Intramolecular Frustrated Lewis Pairs: P-B-P Bond Systems for the Activation of Dihydrogen, Carbon Dioxide, and Phenyl Isocyanate
Herein, we present the first example of the activation of small molecules by P-B-P bond systems. The reactivity study involves reactions of two selected diphosphinoboranes, (t-Bu2P)(2)BPh (1') and (Cy2P)(2)BNiPr2 (2), that differ in terms of their structural and electronic properties for the activation of dihydrogen, carbon dioxide, and phenyl isocyanate. Diphosphinoborane 1' activates H-2 under very mild conditions in the absence of a catalyst with the formation of the dimer (t-Bu2PB(Ph)H)(2) and t-Bu2PH. Conversely, diphosphinoborane 2 did not react with H-2 under the same conditions. The reaction of 1' with CO2 led to the formation of a compound with an unusual structure, where two phosphinoformate units were coordinated to the PhBOBPh moiety. In addition, 2 reacted with CO2 to insert two CO2 molecules into the P-B bonds of the parent diphosphinoborane. Both diphosphinoboranes activated PhNCO, yielding products resulting from the addition of two and/or three PhNCO molecules and the formation of new P-C, B-O, B-N, and C-N bonds. The products of the activation of small molecules by diphosphinoboranes were characterized with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and elemental analysis. Additionally, the reaction mechanisms of the activation of small molecules by diphosphinoboranes were elucidated by theoretical methods.