Nitrogen fixation and reduction at boron.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 29472479.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.aaq1684.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Currently, the only compounds known to support fixation and functionalization of dinitrogen (N<sub>2</sub>) under nonmatrix conditions are based on metals. Here we present the observation of N<sub>2</sub> binding and reduction by a nonmetal, specifically a dicoordinate borylene. Depending on the reaction conditions under which potassium graphite is introduced as a reductant, N<sub>2</sub> binding to two borylene units results in either neutral (B<sub>2</sub>N<sub>2</sub>) or dianionic ([B<sub>2</sub>N<sub>2</sub>]<sup>2-</sup>) products that can be interconverted by respective exposure to further reductant or to air. The <sup>15</sup>N isotopologues of the neutral and dianionic molecules were prepared with <sup>15</sup>N-labeled dinitrogen, allowing observation of the nitrogen nuclei by <sup>15</sup>N nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Protonation of the dianionic compound with distilled water furnishes a diradical product with a central hydrazido B<sub>2</sub>N<sub>2</sub>H<sub>2</sub> unit. All three products were characterized spectroscopically and crystallographically.