Pentafluorophenylboranes: from obscurity to applications

Abstract

Pentafluorophenyl substituted boranes and borates are important as co-catalysts in metallocene-based industrial processes for the homogeneous polymerization of olefins. Although first prepared in the early 1960s, the remarkable properties of tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane have only recently been exploited for applications in catalysis. Spurred by these developments, the related compounds bis(pentafluorophenyl)borane and salts of the tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate anion have also found application in olefin polymerization and other fields. In this article, we trace the rise of pentafluorophenyl boron compounds from curiosities to important commodities.