Tetrachlorocatecholates of triarylarsines as a novel class of Lewis acids.

Pnictogen-mediated Lewis acidity is an emerging research subject in organic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, etc . In contrast to the extensive studies on phosphorus and antimony, the diversity of arsenic-Lewis acids was quite limited. Herein, tetrachlorocatecholates of triarylarsines were newly synthesized. Their structures, electronic properties, and Lewis acidities were experimentally and computationally examined and compared with the corresponding phosphorus and antimony analogs. This is the first systematic study on the relationship between the structure and Lewis acidity of arsenic-mediated Lewis acids.