Stabilized borylenes (L BH:) with weakly π-accepting substituents L, such as phosphines, were previously believed to be unstable. In the current manuscript, we describe a series of complexes formally containing a phosphine-stabilized borylene or boryl anion. In contrast to common trivalent boron compounds, the boron-based ligands in this study act as electron-donating ligands. The reported iron hydride complexes exhibit a unique reactivity pattern, undergoing a reversible B-H reductive elimination concomitant with oxidation of the boron(I) center.

No abstract

Unusual binding properties, enabling the stabilization of elusive species, and beneficial properties for homogeneous catalysts have been predicted and demonstrated for ligand-stabilized main group fragments, such as carbodiphosphoranes and -carbenes. However, the quantification and comparison of their binding properties by experimental means still represent major challenges. In this article, we describe a series of iridium(III) pincer complexes of the type [(PEP)IrCl(CO)(H)] q enabling the quantification of the donor strength of the central donor group E (q = 0, +1, +2). Our investigations show that phosphinestabilized boron(I) and carbon(0) compounds are exceptionally strong neutral donor groups in comparison to common spectator ligands in homogeneous catalysis such as carbenes and phosphines. Our experimental and computational results for the first time allow and justify the comparison of the donor strength of cationic, neutral, and anionic ligands. On the basis of quantum chemical investigations, we further demonstrate that the heavier homologues of phosphine-stabilized borylenes and carbon(0) compounds exhibit slightly diminished donor properties.

We report a novel method for the preparation of PBP-pincer complexes from bis(phosphine)boronium salts. The central (RP)HB-moiety in a palladium complex is demonstrated to be a L-type ligand, therewith completing a series of pincer-type complexes with Z-, X- and L-type boron-based ligands, respectively.

Easy-to-prepare η -coordinated phosphine-borane ligands are demonstrated to liberate hydrogen upon treatment with different σ-donor/π-acceptor ligands (CO, tBuNC, CN ). Depending on the utilized ancillary ligand, different reaction pathways are observed, ranging from simple hydride protonation to iron-boron bond formation and subsequent rearrangement to pincer-type ligands based on a tricoordinate boron centre. The last-named reactivity is in line with a formal umpolung at the boron centre from a Lewis acidic borane to a Lewis basic boron-based donor ligand.