Boron halide chelate compounds and their activity towards the demethylation of trimethylphosphate

Salen(t-Bu)H 2 (N,N'-ethylenebis(3,5-di-tert-butyl(2-hydroxy)benzylidenimine) and its derivatives were used to prepare boron compounds having the formula L(BCl 2 ) 2 (L = salen(t-Bu) ( 1 ), salpen(t-Bu) ( 2 ), salben(t-Bu) ( 3 ), salpten(t-Bu) ( 4 ), salhen(t-Bu) ( 5 )). These are formed from the reaction of the corresponding L[B(OMe) 2 ] 2 with BCl 3 . In addition to being a new type of boron compound, they are also potential two-point Lewis acids. Indeed, they demonstrate Lewis acidic behavior in the dealkylation of trimethylphosphate. All of the compounds were characterized by mp, elemental analysis, 1 H and 11 B NMR, IR, MS, and in the case of 2 by X-ray crystallography.Key words: boron, salen, dealkylation.