In their Communication the authors stated that "non-transition-metal catalysts for hydrogenation reactions are all but unknown." However, it should be noted that non-transition-metal systems have been shown to effect hydrogenation under more forcing conditions. For example, DeWitt, Ramp, and Trapasso demonstrated hydrogenation with iPr 3 B under 67 atm (1000 psi) H 2 at 220 o C. [1] Similarly, Haenel and co-workers [2] among others [3] showed hydrogenation of coal under almost 148 atm (15 MPa) H 2 and at 280-350 8C using BI 3 or alkyl boranes. As well, superacid systems have also been shown to effect hydrogenation of alkenes at H 2 pressures of at least 35 atm. [4] [1] a) E.

The Lewis acid B(C(6)F(5))(3) has been found to be an efficient catalyst for the direct hydrogenation of imines and the reductive ring-opening of aziridines with H(2) under mild conditions; addition of a bulky phosphine allows for the reduction of protected nitriles.

Catalytic reactions that enable the formation of new bonds to carbon centres play a pervasive role in the state-of-the-art synthesis of organic molecules and macromolecules. In contrast, the development of analogous processes as routes to main group compounds and materials has been much slower. Nevertheless, recent advances have led to a broad expansion of this field and now allow access to a wide range of catenated structures based on elements across the p block. These breakthroughs have already impacted areas such as hydrogen storage and transfer, functional inorganic polymers and ceramic thin films. Dehydrogenation and dehydrocoupling processes are particularly well developed and may be mediated by either transition metal or main group catalysts. Such pathways represent an increasingly attractive and convenient alternative to traditional routes, such as salt metathesis and reductive coupling reactions. An overview of this emerging area is presented in this Review with a focus on recent developments and future challenges.

Bis(imino)pyridine pincer ligands in conjunction with two isothiocyanate ligands have been used to prepare two mononuclear Co(II) complexes. Both complexes have a distorted square-pyramidal geometry with the Co(II) centers lying above the basal plane. This leads to significant spin-orbit coupling for the d(7) Co(II) ions and consequently to slow relaxation of the magnetization that is characteristic of Single-Molecule Magnet (SMM) behavior.

Mild thermolysis of Lewis base stabilized phosphinoborane monomers R1R2P–BH2⋅NMe3 (R1,R2=H, Ph, or tBu/H) at room temperature to 100 °C provides a convenient new route to oligo- and polyphosphinoboranes [R1R2P-BH2]n. The polymerization appears to proceed via the addition/head-to-tail polymerization of short-lived free phosphinoborane monomers, R1R2P-BH2. This method offers access to high molar mass materials, as exemplified by poly(tert-butylphosphinoborane), that are currently inaccessible using other routes (e.g. catalytic dehydrocoupling).

Wet chemical screening reveals the very high reactivity of Mo(NMe ) with H S for the low-temperature synthesis of MoS . This observation motivated an investigation of Mo(NMe ) as a volatile precursor for the atomic layer deposition (ALD) of MoS thin films. Herein we report that Mo(NMe ) enables MoS film growth at record low temperatures-as low as 60 °C. The as-deposited films are amorphous but can be readily crystallized by annealing. Importantly, the low ALD growth temperature is compatible with photolithographic and lift-off patterning for the straightforward fabrication of diverse device structures.

Phosphoniumborate wie R2PH(C6F4)BH(C6F5)2 sind effektive metallfreie Hydrierungskatalysatoren (siehe Schema) für die Reduktion sterisch gehinderter Imine und Aziridine sowie B(C6F5)3‐geschützter nichtgehinderter Imine und Nitrile bei vergleichsweise niedrigen H2‐Drücken und Temperaturen.

The catalyst loading is the key to control the molecular weight of the polymer in the iron-catalyzed dehydropolymerization of phosphine-borane adducts. Studies showed that the reaction proceeds through a chain-growth coordination-insertion mechanism.