A comparison of hydrogen release kinetics from 5- and 6-membered 1,2-BN-cycloalkanes.

The reaction order and Arrhenius activation parameters for spontaneous hydrogen release from cyclic amine boranes, i.e. , BN-cycloalkanes, were determined for 1,2-BN-cyclohexane (1) and 3-methyl-1,2-BN-cyclopentane (2) in tetraglyme. Computational analysis identified a mechanism involving catalytic substrate activation by a ring-opened form of 1 or 2 as being consistent with experimental observations.