Boron trifluoride etherate, strictly boron trifluoride diethyl etherate, or boron trifluoride–ether complex, is the
chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...
with the formula BF
3O(C
2H
5)
2, often abbreviated BF
3OEt
2. It is a colorless liquid, although older samples can appear brown. The compound is used as a source of
boron trifluoride in many chemical reactions that require a
Lewis acid.
The compound features tetrahedral boron coordinated to a diethylether ligand.
Many analogues are known, including the methanol complex.
Reactions
Boron trifluoride etherate serves as a source of
boron trifluoride according to the equilibrium:
:BF
3OEt
2 BF
3 + OEt
2
The BF
3 binds to even weak Lewis bases, inducing reactions of the resulting adducts with nucleophiles.
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]
References
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Fluorides
Boron compounds
Boron halides
Acid catalysts