PubMed2005
The problem of intrinsic Lewis acidities of simple boron compounds (BH3-mXm, m = 0-3, X = F, Cl, Br, CH3, and OH) is assessed by their gas-phase hydride affinities (HAs). A simple and intuitively appealing picture of the interaction process including detachment of an electron from the hydride ion H-, capture of the pruned electron to the investigated Lewis acid (LA), and subsequent formation of the homolytic chemical bond between two newly created radicals is proposed. It enables transparent and straightforward dissection of the initial and final state effects, which taken together with the intermediate relaxation stabilization determine the trend of changes in the hydride affinities. The former effect is reflected in the electron affinities of the neutral Lewis acids given within Koopmans' approximation, while the final state effect involves properties of the formed Lewis acid-base adducts mirrored in the bond dissociation energy of the formed [LA-H]- chemical bond. It is demonstrated that unexpectedly low Lewis acidity of fluoroboranes relative to the corresponding chlorine and bromine derivatives can be traced down to the unfavorable Koopmans' electron affinities. Hence, it is a consequence of the initial state effect. In contrast, chloroboranes are more potent Lewis acids than fluoroboranes, because the relaxation and final state effects decisively influence their Lewis acidity. Finally, bromine-substituted borane compounds provide the most powerful studied Lewis acids. Their hydride affinities are result of a synergic interplay of the initial state, intermediate stabilization via relaxation, and final state effects. It is shown that Pearson's global hardness indices defined within his hard and soft acid-base (HSAB) principle fail to adequately predict and interpret the calculated hydride affinities.