Peri-Substituted (Ace)Naphthylphosphinoboranes. (Frustrated) Lewis Pairs

The synthesis and molecular structures of 1-(diphenylphosphino)-8-naphthyldimesitylborane (1) and 5-(diphenylphosphino)-6-acenaphthyldimesitylborane (2) are reported. The experimentally determined P–B peri distances of 2.162(2) and 3.050(3) Å allow 1 and 2 to be classified as regular and frustrated Lewis pairs. The electronic characteristics of the (non)­bonding P–B contacts are determined by analysis of a set of real-space bonding indicators (RSBIs) derived from the theoretically calculated electron and pair densities. These densities are analyzed utilizing the atoms-in-molecules (AIM), stockholder, and electron-localizability-indicator (ELI-D) space partitioning schemes. The recently introduced mapping of the electron localizability on the ELI-D basin surfaces is also applied. All RSBIs clearly discriminate the bonding P–B contact in 1 from the nonbonding P–B contact in 2, which is due to the fact that the acenaphthene framework is rather rigid, whereas the naphthyl framework shows sufficient conformational flexibility, allowing shorter peri interations. The results are compared to the previously known prototypical phosphinoborane Ph3PB­(C6F5)3, which serves as a reference for a bonding P–B interaction. The most prominent features of the nonbonding P–B contact in 2 are the lack of an AIM bond critical point, the unaffected Hirshfeld surfaces of the P and B atomic fragments, and the negligible penetration of the electron population of the ELI-D lone pair basin of the P atom into the AIM B atomic basin.