Oxygen plays a crucial role in chemistry due to its effectiveness in forming organic molecules that constitute our environment. Peroxides, a class of oxygen-based compounds, are noted for their high reactivity, functioning like oxygen transport vehicles that transfer atoms to other molecules. This process is vital for applications ranging from drug development to industrial production. In a study released on April 24 in Nature Chemistry, MIT researchers from the labs of Professors Christopher C. Cummins and Robert J. Gilliard, Jr. announced the discovery of a novel peroxide with boron, named dioxaborirane. This finding marks a significant leap in the field, where such structures were theorized but deemed too unstable for isolation.
Dioxaborirane is produced when a specially designed boron molecule interacts with oxygen gas. The discovery is noteworthy because the reaction occurs almost immediately at room temperature. Typically, forming strained oxygen-containing rings like this demands severe conditions, such as extremely low temperatures or high pressure, to prevent decomposition. The team confirmed the existence of a highly strained, three-member ring comprising one boron and two oxygen atoms using advanced techniques like crystallography and computational modeling.
The molecule’s behavior is particularly intriguing. Depending on its electrical charge, it can function in two distinct ways: As a builder, it can donate oxygen atoms to synthesize new chemical compounds. Alternatively, as a trapper, it can react with carbon dioxide, potentially presenting a new method for greenhouse gas capture and conversion.
“By demonstrating that these compounds can be generated under mild conditions, our work paves the way for entirely new types of chemistry,” says Chonghe Zhang, the study’s lead author and an MIT chemistry graduate student co-advised by Cummins and Gilliard. “Ultimately, these findings might provide us with powerful new tools for oxidation reactions in synthesis and materials science.” Other contributors to the paper include MIT’s Noah D. McMillion and Chun-Lin Deng, along with Junyi Wang from Baylor University. The research received partial funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Original Source: news.mit.edu
