Unimolecular decomposition of triethylborine

Abstract

The gas-phase unimolecular elimination of ethylene from triethylborine has been studied in the temperature range 109–214°C. To minimize the back-reaction an excess of Et₂BH scavenger was added. In these conditions the amount of ethylene formed was a good measure of the extent of the reaction : Et₃B = C₂H₄+ Et₂BH. For this reaction it was found that E= 33·7 ± 1·2 kcal. mole^–1 and A= 4 × 10¹¹ sec.^–1. From these data it can be concluded that ethylene elimination from triethylborine is one of the slowest olefin eliminations observed from trialkylboranes.