Electrophilic reactivity of the zwitterionic titanocene monohalides Cp[η5-C5H4B(C6F5)3]TiX (X = Cl, Br): Reactions with water and methanol

The paper reports on the easy protolytic cleavage of the inert B-C6F5 bond in the zwitterionic Ti(IV) complexes Cp[η5-C5H4B(C6F5)3]TiX (X = Cl, Br) with water and methanol to afford pentafluorobenzene and the complexes Cp[η5-C5H4B(C6F5)2]TiX(μ-OR), where X = Cl, Br, R = H; X = Cl, R = CH3. The data obtained evidence for a high electrophilicity of the positively charged Ti atom in the starting zwitterions.