Taming the Lewis Superacid Al(ORF)(3) (RF=C(CF3)(3)): DFT Guided Identification of the "Stable yet Reactive" Adduct SiPr2?Al(ORF)(3); Its Use as ORF- Abstractor from a "Ni-ORF" complex

A DFT study of several L?Al(ORF)(3) (L=Lewis bases) adducts allowed the identification of ((Pr2S)-Pr-i)?Al(ORF)(3) 1-(SPr2)-Pr-i as a "stable yet reactive" adduct. 1-(SPr2)-Pr-i was shown to act as a masked Lewis superacid able to release Al(ORF)(3) under mild conditions. It could be used to abstract a ORF- ligand from (bipyMe(2))Ni(ORF)(2) (bipyMe(2) : 6,6'-dimethyl-2,2'-dipyridyl) and generate the nickel alkoxide complex [(bipyMe(2))Ni(ORF)((Pr2S)-Pr-i)](+)[((RO)-O-F)(3)Al-F-Al(ORF)(3)](-) 5. Ligand exchange of (Pr2S)-Pr-i by Ph3P yielded [(bipyMe(2))Ni(ORF)(PPh3)](+)[((RO)-O-F)(3)Al-F-Al(ORF)(3)](-) 6.