Design, synthesis, and reactivity of a boron-based Lewis superacid: a combined computational and experimental study

Ellis, Kimberley ORCID: 0000-0002-1717-3552 (2025). Design, synthesis, and reactivity of a boron-based Lewis superacid: a combined computational and experimental study. University of Birmingham. M.Sc.

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Abstract

In today’s chemical industry, many organic transformations rely on the employment of catalysts to enhance reaction performance and provide pathways to products that may be otherwise inaccessible without providing large quantities of thermal energy. Unfortunately, these catalysts often consist of scarcely abundant transition metals which pose environmental concerns. Given this, there has been a paradigm shift towards more sustainable regimes that focus on utilising the Lewis acidity of p-block elements, such as those that sit in group III of the periodic table. In particular, boron-centred complexes are of wide interest to many organometallic chemists. The seminal innovation of the Lewis acid tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane in the 1960s paved the way for the burgeoning field of Lewis superacids that far surpass the activity of classic antimony pentafluoride and as such, these superacids are being investigated for their catalytic properties. This thesis will focus on the background of these unique compounds, the measurement of them against well-established forerunners and detail the development and testing of a novel Lewis superacidic borane through computational and experimental means.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Masters by Research > M.Sc.)

Award Type:

Masters by Research > M.Sc.

Supervisor(s):