Synthesis Method of Unsolvated Organic Derivatives of Metal Borohydrides

A new, scalable, wet-chemistry single-pot method of synthesising pure unsolvated organic derivatives of metal borohydrides is presented. The metathetic reaction in a weakly coordinating solvent is exemplified by the synthesis of [(n-C4H9)(4)N][Y(BH4)(4)] and [Ph4P][Y(BH4)(4)] systems. For the latter compound, the crystal structure was solved and described. Organic borohydride salts obtained by the new method can find various applications, e.g., can be used as precursors in synthesis of hydrogen-rich mixed-metal borohydrides-promising materials for solid-state chemical storage of hydrogen.

Automated summary

This study presents a new, scalable, wet-chemistry single-pot method for synthesising pure unsolvated organic derivatives of metal borohydrides. The metathetic reaction in a weakly coordinating solvent was exemplified by the synthesis of [(n-C4H9)(4)N][Y(BH4)(4)] and [Ph4P][Y(BH4)(4)] systems, with the crystal structure of the latter compound being solved and described. The organic borohydride salts obtained through this new method have various applications, such as serving as precursors in the synthesis of hydrogen-rich mixed-metal borohydrides, which are promising materials for solid-state chemical storage of hydrogen.