Abstract
Boron's unique position in the Periodic Table, that is, at the apex of the line separating metals and nonmetals, makes it highly versatile in chemical reactions and applications. Contemporary demand for renewable and clean energy as well as energy‐efficient products has seen boron playing key roles in energy‐related research, such as 1) activating and synthesizing energy‐rich small molecules, 2) storing chemical and electrical energy, and 3) converting electrical energy into light. These applications are fundamentally associated with boron's unique characteristics, such as its electron‐deficiency and the availability of an unoccupied p orbital, which allow the formation of a myriad of compounds with a wide range of chemical and physical properties. For example, boron's ability to achieve a full octet of electrons with four covalent bonds and a negative charge has led to the synthesis of a wide variety of borate anions of high chemical and electrochemical stability—in particular, weakly coordinating anions. This Review summarizes recent advances in the study of boron compounds for energy‐related processes and applications.
Highlights
In terms of energy-related research, the element boron is currently enjoying significant attention from scientists working in various fields
We provide a short overview of the abilities of lowvalent boron species to activate small molecules of interest to catalysis and the sustainable use of energy and resources. These processes are in general promoted by three distinct systems based on boron (Figure 1): (a) heterodinuclear activating species, namely frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs), which function by the combination of a Lewis acidic boron component with a Lewis base; (b) homodinuclear activating species with two connected boron atoms, such as diboranes, diborenes and diborynes; and (c) monoboron species, namely monovalent, dicoordinate borylenes
The most significant recent development in boron-based molecules for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) is their use as thermally-activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters, which is described here in detail
Summary
In terms of energy-related research, the element boron is currently enjoying significant attention from scientists working in various fields. This review highlights several aspects of boron-containing compounds for energy-related research, including small molecule activation, hydrogen storage, electrolytes, and OLEDs, aiming to emphasize the diverse roles and high potential of this element. His research group is working on boron chemistry for energy conversion and storage, including hydrogen storage materials, electrolytes, and 2D boron-containing nanosheets for catalysis. He is currently a Senior Scientist in the Institute for Inorganic Chemistry and the Institute for Sustainable Chemistry & Catalysis with Boron at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg. Michael Lappert, FRS, at the University of Sussex and held a position as Reader at Imperial College, London He is Chair and Head of Inorganic Chemistry at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, where he is a member of the Senate and Founding Director of the Institute for Sustainable Chemistry & Catalysis with Boron (ICB)
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