Borenium ionic liquids as catalysts for Diels–Alder reaction: tuneable Lewis superacids for catalytic applications†
Abstract
Ionic liquids based on the tricoordinate borenium cation were used for the first time as Lewis acid catalysts for a model Diels–Alder reaction. The conversion of the dienophile was successfully correlated with the Gutmann acceptor number values of the ionic liquids. Borenium ionic liquids exceeded the performance of catalysts reported in the literature.