The history of silyl cations has all the makings of a drama but with a happy ending. Being
considered reactive intermediates impossible to isolate in the condensed phase for …

Motivated by the discovery of main group Lewis acids that could compete or possibly
outperform the ubiquitous organoboranes, several groups, including ours, have engaged in …

IUPAC defines Lewis acidity as the thermodynamic tendency for Lewis pair formation. This
strength property was recently specified as global Lewis acidity (gLA), and is gauged for …

The computed fluoride ion affinity (FIA) is a valuable descriptor to assess the Lewis acidity of
a compound. Despite its widespread use, the varying accuracy of applied computational …

Catechols occupy a unique role in the structural, bio-, and geochemistry of silicon. Although
a wealth of knowledge exists on their hypercoordinate complexes, the structure of …

A series of catecholato phosphonium ions, including the first stable bis (catecholato)-
substituted derivatives, are isolated and fully characterized. The cations rank among the …

Tertiary and quaternary phosphonium borane catalysts are employed as catalysts for
CO2/epoxide copolymerization. Catalyst structures are strategically modified to gain insights …

Previously described Lewis superacids are moisture sensitive and predominantly hard in
character—features that severely limit their widespread use in orbital‐controlled reactions …

The heterolytic cleavage of dihydrogen constitutes the hallmark reaction of frustrated Lewis
pairs (FLP). While being well‐established for planar Lewis acids, such as boranes or …

Given its earth abundance, silicon is ideal for constructing Lewis acids of use in catalysis or
materials science. Neutral silanes were limited to moderate Lewis acidity, until halogenated …