Complexes of 2,2′,2″‐Nitrilotriphenol. Part 1. A Study of Bimolecular Nucleophilic Substitution at the Boron Atom

The tetradentate ligand 2,2′,2″‐nitrilotriphenol forms a boron complex III with an intramolecular, transannular N→B dative bond of 1.68 Å in a strained tricyclo[3.3.3.0]undecane chelating system. The complex reacts with nitrogen bases L, such as pyridine, quinuclidine and others, to form complexes III‐L , in which the intramolecular B–N bond is replaced by one between B and the external nucleophile. In solution, this displacement reaction is reversible. It was studied by temperature‐dependent NMR spectroscopy. The resulting reaction and activation parameters suggest that the reaction is a bimolecular nucleophilic substitution ( S N 2).