Activated Borane as Lewis Acid Based Catalyst

We aim to develop Activated Boranes, a new class of porous polymers, into versatile heterogeneous Lewis acid-based catalysts that can substitute molecular electrophilic boranes such as B(C6F5)3 (BCF). The structure of Activated Borane is composed of borane clusters bound together by organic linkers with part of the boron atoms present in a tricoordinated form. It is known that when tricoordinated boron atoms are substituted with borane clusters they form Lewis acid centres capable of catalytic reactions. Preliminary experiments suggest that Activated Borane can catalyze similar set of reactions as BCF. We will delineate the composition – structure – catalytic properties of Activated Boranes. To do so, we will screen combinations of selected borane clusters with linking molecules followed by detailed characterization and structure elucidation and finally correlate with catalytic activity. We will focus on three main groups of reactions: deoxygenation of substrates from renewable sources, dehalogenation of persistent pollutants, metal-free hydrogenation of various organic molecules.