No abstract

Applications of the bifunctional ferrocenediyl Lewis acid 1,1'-fc{B(CF)} in frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) chemistry are described. The coordination (or otherwise) of a range of sterically encumbered C-, N- and P-centred Lewis bases has been investigated, with lutidine, tetramethylpiperidine, PPh, PBu and the expanded ring carbene 6Dipp being found to be sterically incapable of coordinate bond formation. The chemistry of a range of these FLPs in the presence of HO, NH, CO and cyclohexylisocyanate (CyNCO) has been investigated, with the patterns of reactivity identified including simple coordination chemistry, E-H bond cleavage and C-B insertion.

Laughing about frustration: Frustrated Lewis pairs comprising a bulky tertiary phosphine and a strongly Lewis acidic ferrocenyl borane (FcB(C6F5)2) have been investigated for the colorimetric/electrochemical detection of N2O. One such system, based on tBu3P/FcB(C6F5)2, not only signals the presence of N2O, but also has the ability to differentiate between N2O and O2.

Ethylaluminium dichloride forms complexes with one, two, five, and eight moles of ammonia per mole of aluminium and diethylaluminium chloride complexes with one and two moles of ammonia. There is no ammonolysis of aluminium-chlorine bonds. On heating, the complexes lose ethane and aluminium trichloride-ammonia, with the formation of aluminium-nitrogen polymers.ALUMINIUM TRrALIwLs give ammonia adducts which decompose h2 at room temperature forming hydrocarbons and compounds (R,AlNH,). ( x = 2 or 3), but the trihalides form G.