Boron trifluoride, electrostatic

Active Figure 2.5 The reaction of boron trifluoride, a Lewis acid, with dimethyl ether, a Lewis base. The Lewis acid accepts a pair of electrons, and the Lewis base donates a pair of nonbonding electrons. Note how the movement of electrons from the Lewis base to the Lewis acid is indicated by a curved arrow. Note also how, in electrostatic potential maps, the boron becomes more negative (red) after reaction because it has gained electrons and the oxygen atom becomes more positive (blue) because it has donated electrons. Sign in atwww. thomsonedu.com to see a simulation based on this figure and to take a short quiz. 

An electrostatic potential map of boron trifluoride is shown. Is BF3 likely to be a nucleophile or an electrophile Draw a Lewis structure for BF3, and explain your answer. 

These results may be explained either by Cram s cyclic model in the case of lithium alkyls or by Cornforth s dipolar model if copper-boron trifluoride reagents are used. Boron trifluoride causes double complexation of both nitrogen and oxygen atoms which results in the formation of an adduct with rigid antiperiplanar conformation due to electrostatic repulsion (see 4 and 5)9. 

Examples of neutral Lewis acids are halides of group 3A elements, such as BF3. Boron trifluoride, a colorless gas, is an excellent Lewis acid because the boron atom in the trigonal planar BF3 molecule is surrounded by only six valence electrons (Figure 15.12). The boron atom uses three sp2 hybrid orbitals to bond to the three F atoms and has a vacant 2p valence orbital that can accept a share in a pair of electrons from a Lewis base, such as NH3. The Lewis acid and base sites are evident in electrostatic potential maps, which show the electron poor B atom (blue) and the electron rich N atom (red). In the product, called an acid-base adduct, the boron atom has acquired a stable octet of electrons. 

The movement of electrons in Lewis acid-base reactions can be seen clearly with electrostatic potential maps. In the reaction of boron trifluoride with dimethyl ether, for instance, the ether oxygen atom becomes more positive and the boron becomes more negative as electron density is transferred and the B-0 bond forms (Figure 2.6). 

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