Defining the Speciation, Coordination Chemistry, and Lewis Acid Catalysis of Electronically Diverse Zinc Benzoates

Lydia A Dunaway; Audrey G Davis; Victoria J Carter; Albert K Korir; Matthias Zeller; John J Kiernicki

doi:10.1021/acs.organomet.4c00358

Defining the Speciation, Coordination Chemistry, and Lewis Acid Catalysis of Electronically Diverse Zinc Benzoates

Organometallics. 2024 Dec 16;44(1):46-53. doi: 10.1021/acs.organomet.4c00358. eCollection 2025 Jan 13.

Authors

Lydia A Dunaway¹, Audrey G Davis¹, Victoria J Carter¹, Albert K Korir¹, Matthias Zeller², John J Kiernicki¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Drury University, Springfield, Missouri 65802, United States.
² H.C. Brown Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.

Abstract

Zinc benzoates may provide an element of tunability that is not available to their ubiquitous acetate analogues. Unfortunately, the synthesis, speciation, and coordination chemistry of zinc benzoates are less developed than the acetates. In this study, we systematically investigate zinc benzoates to understand their propensity to favor solvate (Zn(O₂CAr)₂(L)₂) or cluster (Zn₄O(O₂CAr)₆) formation as well as their utility as metal complex precursors. The zinc benzoates were found to be Lewis acid catalysts comparable to their acetate counterparts for the formation of oxazolines from esters and amino alcohols.