Protonolysis
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Protonolysis is the cleavage of a chemical bond by acids. Many examples are found in organometallic chemistry since the reaction requires polar Mδ+-Rδ- bonds, where δ+ and δ- signify partial positive and negative charges associated with the bonding atoms. When compounds containing these bonds are treated with acid (HX), these bonds cleave: M-R + HX → M-X + H-R Hydrolysis (X− = OH−) is a special case of protonolysis. Compounds susceptible to hydrolysis often undergo protonolysis.
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Article
4 sectionsContents
- Hydrides
- Alkyls
- Nitrides, phosphides, silicides and related species
- References
Protonolysis is the cleavage of a chemical bond by acids. Many examples are found in organometallic chemistry since the reaction requires polar Mδ+-Rδ- bonds, where δ+ and δ- signify partial positive and negative charges associated with the bonding atoms. When compounds containing these bonds are treated with acid (HX), these bonds cleave: M-R + HX → M-X + H-R Hydrolysis (X− = OH−) is a special case of protonolysis. Compounds susceptible to hydrolysis often undergo protonolysis.
==Hydrides== The borohydride anion is susceptible to reaction with even weak acids, resulting protonolysis of one or more B-H bonds. Protonolysis of sodium borohydride with acetic acid gives triacetoxyborohydride: NaBH4 + 3 HO2CCH3 → NaBH(O2CCH3)3 + 3 H2 Related reactions occur for hydrides of other electropositive elements, e.g. lithium aluminium hydride.