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The frustrated Lewis pair‐catalyzed hydrogenation of unactivated alkenes with H2 is reported. The weak Lewis basicity and high steric hindrance of ortho‐substituted 9‐phosphatriptycene derivatives is taken as an advantage to catalyze this reaction in combination with tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane. A scope of unsaturated substrates is described. The thermodynamics and kinetics of hydrogenation investigated by density functional theory show that the protonation of the olefin by the strongly acidic phosphonium cation is the critical step of the reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their Research Article, D. Mahaut et al. take advantage of the weak basicity of 9-phosphatriptycene derivatives in frustrated Lewis pair catalysis to perform the metal-free hydrogenation of unactivated alkenes. Keywords: 9-phosphatriptycenes; frustrated Lewis pairs; hydrogenation; unactivated alkenes; density functional theory EN 9-phosphatriptycenes frustrated Lewis pairs hydrogenation unactivated alkenes density functional theory 1 1 1 07/11/22 20220707 NES 220707 B The Cover Feature b illustrates the activation of dihydrogen gas by frustrated Lewis pairs consisting of 9-phosphatriptycene derivatives and tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane, enabling the subsequent hydrogenation of cyclohexene. Cover Feature: Frustrated Lewis pair-catalyzed hydrogenation of unactivated alkenes with sterically hindered 9-phosphatriptycenes (ChemCatChem 13/2022). [Extracted from the article]