Phenalenyl in a Different Role: Catalytic Activation through the Nonbonding Molecular Orbital

Abstract

We have demonstrated that the nonbonding molecular orbital (NBMO) of the phenalenyl (PLY) cation can be used as a Lewis acid catalyst for different organic transformations. Detailed computational and spectroscopic studies for the aminolysis reaction of epoxide reveal that this catalysis works through a different mechanism, and the phenalenyl cation activates the amine moiety using its empty NBMO, which triggers the epoxide ring-opening reaction. It has been shown that the energy of the NBMO of PLY cation plays a key role in modulating the catalytic activity. This study establishes that the cationic state of phenalenyl unit is useful not only for construction of the spin memory device by external spin injection using its NBMO, but in addition, the same NBMO can act as an organic Lewis acceptor unit to influence the catalytic outcome of a homogeneous reaction.