Although known for over 90 years, only in the past two decades has the chemistry of diboron(4) compounds been extensively explored. Many interesting structural features and reaction patterns have emerged, and more importantly, these compounds now feature prominently in both metal-catalyzed and metal-free methodologies for the formation of B-C bonds and other processes.

Classical Lewis acid-base adducts, previously thought to be unreactive, can provide access to the unique reactivity of frustrated Lewis pairs. This was demonstrated with a mixture of 2,6-lutidine and B(C(6)F(5))(3) where an equilibrium affords the adduct and yet also effects the heterolytic activation of H(2) and the ring opening of THF.

The well-known frameworks of the type M2(dobdc) (dobdc(4-) = 2,5-dioxido-1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) have numerous potential applications in gas storage and separations, owing to their exceptionally high concentration of coordinatively unsaturated metal surface sites, which can interact strongly with small gas molecules such as H2. Employing a related meta-functionalized linker that is readily obtained from resorcinol, we now report a family of structural isomers of this framework, M2(m-dobdc) (M = Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni; m-dobdc(4-) = 4,6-dioxido-1,3-benzenedicarboxylate), featuring exposed M(2+) cation sites with a higher apparent charge density. The regioisomeric linker alters the symmetry of the ligand field at the metal sites, leading to increases of 0.4-1.5 kJ/mol in the H2 binding enthalpies relative to M2(dobdc). A variety of techniques, including powder X-ray and neutron diffraction, inelastic neutron scattering, infrared spectroscopy, and first-principles electronic structure calculations, are applied in elucidating how these subtle structural and electronic differences give rise to such increases. Importantly, similar enhancements can be anticipated for the gas storage and separation properties of this new family of robust and potentially inexpensive metal-organic frameworks.

Six metal-organic frameworks of the M2(dobdc) (M = Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn; dobdc(4-) = 2,5-dioxido-1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) structure type are demonstrated to bind carbon monoxide reversibly and at high capacity. Infrared spectra indicate that, upon coordination of CO to the divalent metal cations lining the pores within these frameworks, the C-O stretching frequency is blue-shifted, consistent with nonclassical metal-CO interactions. Structure determinations reveal M-CO distances ranging from 2.09(2) Å for M = Ni to 2.49(1) Å for M = Zn and M-C-O angles ranging from 161.2(7)° for M = Mg to 176.9(6)° for M = Fe. Electronic structure calculations employing density functional theory (DFT) resulted in good agreement with the trends apparent in the infrared spectra and crystal structures. These results represent the first crystallographically characterized magnesium and zinc carbonyl compounds and the first high-spin manganese(II), iron(II), cobalt(II), and nickel(II) carbonyl species. Adsorption isotherms indicate reversible adsorption, with capacities for the Fe, Co, and Ni frameworks approaching one CO per metal cation site at 1 bar, corresponding to loadings as high as 6.0 mmol/g and 157 cm(3)/cm(3). The six frameworks display (negative) isosteric heats of CO adsorption ranging from 52.7 to 27.2 kJ/mol along the series Ni > Co > Fe > Mg > Mn > Zn, following the Irving-Williams stability order. The reversible CO binding suggests that these frameworks may be of utility for the separation of CO from various industrial gas mixtures, including CO/H2 and CO/N2. Selectivities determined from gas adsorption isotherm data using ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) over a range of gas compositions at 1 bar and 298 K indicate that all six M2(dobdc) frameworks could potentially be used as solid adsorbents to replace current cryogenic distillation technologies, with the choice of M dictating adsorbent regeneration energy and the level of purity of the resulting gases.

A significant reduction in the energy costs associated with the cryogenic separation of ethylene-ethane and propylene-propane mixtures could potentially be realized through the use of selective solid adsorbents that operate at higher temperatures. The metal-organic frameworks M 2 (dobdc) (M ¼ Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn; dobdc 4À ¼ 2,5-dioxido-1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) are of particular interest for this application, owing to their high density of coordinatively unsaturated M 2+ cation sites that can selectively interact with unsaturated hydrocarbons. Here, we present gas adsorption data for ethylene, ethane, propylene, and propane at 45, 60, and 80 C for the entire series. The means of sample preparation and activation is found to be important for achieving high separation selectivities and capacities. While all of the compounds investigated show good performance characteristics, Fe 2 (dobdc) and Mn 2 (dobdc) exhibit the highest selectivities for the separation of ethylene-ethane and propylenepropane mixtures, respectively. Crystal structures determined from neutron powder diffraction data elucidate the binding of ethane, ethylene, and propylene in Mn 2 (dobdc) and Co 2 (dobdc).

In 2006, our group reported the first metal-free systems that reversibly activate hydrogen. This finding was extended to the discovery of "frustrated Lewis pair" (FLP) catalysts for hydrogenation. It is this catalysis that is the focal point of this article. The development and applications of such FLP hydrogenation catalysts are reviewed, and some previously unpublished data are reported. The scope of the substrates is expanded. Optimal conditions and functional group tolerance are considered and applied to targets of potential commercial significance. Recent developments in asymmetric FLP hydrogenations are also reviewed. The future of FLP hydrogenation catalysts is considered.

Phosphinoboranes that combine bulky electron-rich phosphides and electron deficient B(C6F5)2 fragments produce monomeric phosphinoboranes that undergo facile addition of H2 to give the phosphine-borane adducts (R2PH)(HBR'2). This finding in combination with DFT calculations shed light on the uptake of H2 across a group 13-group 15 bond, a critical requirement for the development of recyclable H2 storage materials.

Static solid-state (35)Cl (I = (3)/(2)) NMR spectra of the organometallic compounds Cp(2)TiCl(2), CpTiCl(3), Cp(2)ZrCl(2), Cp(2)HfCl(2), Cp*(2)ZrCl(2), CpZrCl(3), Cp*ZrCl(3), Cp(2)ZrMeCl, (Cp(2)ZrCl)(2)mu-O, and Cp(2)ZrHCl (Schwartz's reagent) have been acquired at 9.4 T with the quadrupolar Carr-Purcell Meiboom-Gill (QCPMG) sequence in a piecewise manner. Spectra of several samples have also been acquired at 21.1 T. The electric field gradient (EFG) tensor parameters, the quadrupolar coupling constant (C(Q)) and quadrupolar asymmetry parameter (eta(Q)), are readily extracted from analytical simulations of the spectra. The (35)Cl EFG and chemical-shift tensor parameters are demonstrated to be sensitive probes of metallocene structure and allow for differentiation of monomeric and oligomeric structures. First-principles calculations of the (35)Cl EFG parameters successfully reproduce the experimental values and trends. The origin of the observed values of C(Q)((35)Cl) are further examined with natural localized molecular orbital (NLMO) analyses. The combination of experimental and theoretical methods applied to the model compounds are employed to structurally characterize Schwartz's reagent (Cp(2)ZrHCl), for which a crystal structure is unavailable. Aside from a few select examples of single-crystal NMR spectra, this is the first reported application of solid-state (35)Cl NMR spectroscopy to molecules with covalently bound chlorine atoms. It is anticipated that the methodology outlined herein will find application in the structural characterization of a wide variety of chlorine-containing transition-metal and main-group systems.