Boron is a metalloid, having properties intermediate between those of metals and nonmetals. Given the empty p-orbital found on neutral boron, most boron containing species can serve as Lewis acids that are capable of coordinating Lewis bases. As such, coordination between boron and amines has long been used to generate supramolecular assemblies, though little has been reported towards advancing the utility of these compounds. Described here, coordination between boronate diesters and diamines produced polymorphic material with solvent-dependent structures ranging from macrocycles to linear polymers to extended crystalline networks. Some of these materials contain persistent pores and show selective guest uptake, for example adsorbing benzene over toluene, ethylbenzene or xylene (BTEX). Other structures undergo a color transition upon guest binding, affording unique and highly selective sensors. One such compound changes from dark red (burgundy) to bright yellow upon exposure to benzene vapor, yet does not show any color transition when exposed to other aromatic guests. Based on these novel supramolecular boronates, applications for both the selective adsorption and detection of benzene will be presented.

Porous supramolecular boronates:  Towards selective adsorption and detection of benzene

247th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.