Atypical “Masked” Frustrated Lewis Pair Character in a Geminal‐Linked Phosphine‐Borane

Abstract

AbstractWe report the synthesis and reactivity of the geminal‐linked fluorene‐derived P/B frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) iPr2P(C13H8)BCy2 (1). Compound 1 displays anomalous behavior towards small molecules, acting as a “masked” FLP. This behavior stems from significant polarization of the B−C(fluorene) bond in 1, as identified by density functional theory (DFT) computations. We exploit this B−C bond polarity through reactions with PhPCl2, H3N ⋅ BH3, and iPrNH2, demonstrating P−Cl and N−H bond activation, respectively.