Diorganozinc reagents (ZnR2, e.g. R = Et, Ph, C6F5) are widely used as Lewis acid catalysts or Lewis base reagents, however, descriptors for predicting the influence of the R substituent are scarce. Here, by using liquid-phase X-ray spectroscopy, the authors have identified the geometric structures of diorganozincs in weakly coordinating solvents and then established Zn-specific descriptors to quantify the properties of their underlying Lewis acidity/basicity.
- Lewis G. Parker
- Frances K. Towers Tompkins
- Kevin R. J. Lovelock
