Heterolytic cleavage of disulfides by frustrated Lewis pairs.

The addition of diphenyl disulfide (PhSSPh) to tBu(2)P(C(6)F(4))B(C(6)F(5))(2) (1) affords the zwitterionic phosphonium borate [tBu(2)P(SPh)(C(6)F(4))B(SPh)(C(6)F(5))(2)] (2), while the addition of a base or donor solvent to 2 effected the liberation of disulfide and the formation of [tBu(2)P(C(6)F(4))B(donor)(C(6)F(5))(2)]. The reaction of 1 with S(8) gave tBu(2)P(S)(C(6)F(4))B(C(6)F(5))(2) (3). In a similar fashion, the frustrated Lewis pair of tBu(3)P/B(C(6)F(5))(3) reacts with RSSR to give [tBu(3)P(SR)][(RS)B(C(6)F(5))(3)] (R = Ph (4), p-tolyl (5), iPr (6)). In contrast, the corresponding reaction of BnSSBn yields a 1:1:1 mixture of tBu(3)P horizontal lineS, Bn(2)S, and B(C(6)F(5))(3). Species 4 reacts with p-tolylSSp-tolyl to give a mixture of 4, 5, PhSSPh, and p-tolylSS p-tolyl, while treatment of 5 with PhSSPh afforded a similar mixture. To probe this, a crossover experiment between [tBu(3)P(SPh)][B(C(6)F(5))(4)] (7) and [NBu(4)][(p-tolylS)B(C(6)F(5))(3)] (9) was performed. The former species was prepared by a reaction of 4 with [Ph(3)C][B(C(6)F(5)) (4)], while cation exchange of [(Et(2)O)(2)Li( p-tolylS)B(C(6)F(5))(3)] (8) with [NBu(4)]Br gave 9. The reaction of compounds 7 and 9 gave a statistical mixture of the cations [tBu(3)P(SR)](+) and anions [(RS)B(C(6)F(5))(3)](-), R = Ph, Sp-tolyl. The mechanism of this exchange process was probed and is proposed to be an equilibrium involving disulfide and the frustrated Lewis pair. Crystallographic data are reported for compounds 4-8, and the natures of the P-S cations are examined via DFT calculations.