Reactions of N,N-dimethylaniline, N-isopropylaniline, 1,4-C6H4(CH2NHtBu)2,
and benzyldimethylamine with the Lewis acid B(C6F5)3 have been studied. In the case of N,N-dimethylaniline the combination of the Lewis
acid and base forms an almost completely noninteracting frustrated
Lewis pair, while the corresponding reactions of N-isopropylaniline and benzyldimethylamine with B(C6F5)3 afford the adducts (PhNHiPr)B(C6F5)3 (1) and PhCH2NMe2B(C6F5)3 (2), respectively. 1,4-C6H4(CH2NHtBu)2 reacts with 2 equiv of B(C6F5)3 to give rise to an inseparable
mixture of the mono- and bis-amine–borane adducts as well as
an iminium salt derived from hydride abstraction from a benzylic carbon
of the diamine. Subsequent selected reactions of the Lewis acid/base
combinations with H2 afforded [PhNMe2H][HB(C6F5)3] (3), [PhCH2NMe2H][HB(C6F5)3] (4), and [1,4-C6H4(CH2NH2
tBu)2][HB(C6F5)3]2 (5). Reactions with CO2 gave PhCH2NMe2CO2B(C6F5)3 (6), [PhNiPrH2][PhNiPrCO2B(C6F5)3] (8), [1,4-C6H4(CH2NH2
tBu)(CH2NtBuCO2B(C6F5)3] (9), and [C5H6Me4NMeH]2[1,4-C6H4(CH2NtBuCO2B(C6F5)3)2] (10). Interestingly, the species 4 also reacts with CO2 to give [PhCH2NMe2H][HCO2B(C6F5)3] (7). Species 8 reacts with HSiEt3 to yield [PhNiPrC(OSiEt3)OB(C6F5)3] (11). The adduct 2 also reacts with ethene, 2,4-hexadiyne, and the alkynes
HCCR (R = n-Bu, Ph, tBu,
SiMe3) to give the 1,2- addition products PhCH2NMe2CH2CH2B(C6F5)3 (12), PhCH2NMe2C(CCMe)=CMeB(C6F5)3 (13), and the ammonium
alkynylborate salts [PhCH2NMe2H][RCCB(C6F5)3] (R = n-Bu (14a), Ph (14b), tBu (14c), SiMe3 (14d)). In contrast, the reaction
of 1-hexyne with the Lewis pair PhNMe2 and B(C6F5)3 affords the trans-1,2-addition product
PhNMe2C(C4H9)=CH(B(C6F5)3) (15). This chemistry demonstrates
the generality of such FLP chemistry, extending it to N-based Lewis
bases and thereby expanding the scope for applications of FLP chemistry.