Hydride sponge: 1,8-naphthalenediylbis(dimethylborane).
01 January 1985
The synthesis of 1,8-naphthalenediylbis(dimethylborane) (1) from 1,8-dilithionaphthalene and ethyl dimethylborinate is reported, and the ability of 1 to abstract hydride from KH and KEt3BH is described. Compound 1 is the first chelating bidentate Lewis acid which is both rigid and uncharged. The 1,8-diborylnaphthalene unit is envisioned as a building block in the construction of more elaborate oligoboron Lewis acids.