Frustrated Lewis pairs in situ formation in B-based porous aromatic frameworks for efficient o-phenylenediamine cyclization

Abstract

Benzimidazoles are very important chemical materials in the pharmaceutical industry, and the most common synthetic route is cyclization of o-phenylenediamine with carbon sources, in which utilization of inexpensive and abundant CO2 as C1 source is very impressive. Porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) with highly desired skeletons have attracted great attentions in gas capture and catalysis. Herein, B-based PAF-165 and PAF-166 are designed and synthesized via Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction, which present high surface areas as well as high stability. Benefiting from the abundant electron-deficient B centers, both PAFs exhibit excellent selective CO2 adsorption abilities. The presence of sterically hindered B units in PAFs can act as Lewis acid active sites for the frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) in situ formation with o-phenylenediamine, thus promoting the synthesis of benzimidazole. The optimal reaction conditions for o-phenylenediamine cyclization with PAF catalysts are explored, and the reaction mechanism is also proposed. This work provides feasible ideas for incorporating FLPs within porous materials as reusable heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 capture and conversion.