Future prospects in boron chemistry: new boron compounds and Lewis acids for catalysis and materials science

Abstract

Boron-containing compounds have a wide range of structures and rich and multifaceted reactivity patterns. As a result, these compounds are being increasingly used in organometallic, supramolecular, organic and inorganic chemistry, as well as in catalysis and materials science. This perspective describes recent ground-breaking studies and their implications for the future development of new catalysts and materials containing one or several trivalent boron atoms.

Zintl Clusters as a Platform for Lewis Acid Catalysis

“…Organoboranes, compounds featuring B–C bonds, are ubiquitous in organic synthesis, − functional materials, and neutron capture therapy . Within organic synthesis, boranes are commonly employed to facilitate the reduction of carbonyls to protected alcohols, as precursors in cross-coupling chemistry, and as catalysts in their own right. ,− Boron-based catalysts are of growing interest to the synthetic community because they are often inexpensive and more sustainable alternatives to their transition metal counterparts …”

Water Leaching Kinetics of Boron from the Alkali-Activated Ludwigite Ore

“…Boron, a crucial rare non-metallic element, falls within the category of strategic mineral resources [1,2]. Widely employed in industry, agriculture, national defense, medicine, nuclear industry, and emerging fields, boron and its compounds possess notable attributes such as light weight, flame retardancy, heat resistance, wear resistance, high hardness, strength, and catalytic properties [3][4][5][6]. Global distribution of boron mineral resources is highly uneven, with approximately 98% concentrated in a handful of countries, notably Turkey (88%), Russia (2.9%), the United States (2.9%), Chile (2.6%), and China (1.8%) [7,8].…”