Stable Lewis Acid as a Catalyst, a Synthetic Raw Material, and an Additive

Bis(pentafluorophenyl)zinc (1) is an organozinc reagent bearing a pentafluorophenyl group. Due to its strong Lewis acidity, ring-opening polymerization of lactones has been reported by combination with DBU.¹⁾ In ring-opening polymerization using 1, transesterification is suppressed, thereby yielding high molecular weight polyester.
1 is used in the synthesis of B-N-fused dianthracenylpyrazine,²⁾ which exhibits a narrow HOMO-LUMO gap due to the B-N Lewis pair within the molecule. 4-Pf, which incorporates a pentafluorophenyl group into B-N-fused dianthracenylpyrazine, can further narrow the HOMO-LUMO gap. The maximum absorption wavelength of 4-Pf reaches 770 nm. Nanoparticles of 4-Pf exhibits excellent photothermal conversion efficiency, making it a promising candidate for photothermal therapy applications.
1 is also used in research on solar cells.³⁾ Using 1 for the surface treatment of perovskite solar cells promotes secondary growth of the perovskite crystal, thereby improving conversion efficiency and durability.

References

• 1) Ring-Opening Polymerization with Lewis Pairs and Subsequent Nucleophilic Substitution: A Promising Strategy to Well-Defined Polyethylene-like Polyesters without Transesterification
  • B. Wang, L. Pan, Z. Ma, Y. Li, Macromolecules 2018, 51, 836.
• 2) Near-Infrared-Absorbing B–N Lewis Pair-Functionalized Anthracenes: Electronic Structure Tuning, Conformational Isomerism, and Applications in Photothermal Cancer Therapy
  • K. Liu, Z. Jiang, R. A. Lalancette, X. Tang, F. Jäkle, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 18908.
• 3) Effect of BPFz on the Performance of Inorganic Perovskite Film and Solar Cells
  • S. Qi, P. Wang, H. Sun, Y. Liu, J. Chang, J. Li, Y. Zhao, X. Zhan, Sol. RRL 2025, 9, 2400819.

Related Products

B6561

Bis(perfluorophenyl)borane

D1270

1,8-Diazabicyclo[5.4.0]-7-undecene (= DBU)

B4416

Boron Trichloride (ca. 17% in Hexane, ca. 1.0mol/L)

A1831

Aluminum(III) Chloride

D1804

2,6-Di-tert-butylpyridine

T0055

Tetrabutylammonium Chloride (= TBAC)