Proton-transfer and H2-elimination reactions of trimethylamine alane: role of dihydrogen bonding and Lewis acid-base interactions.

Proton-transfer and H(2)-elimination reactions of aluminum hydride AlH(3)(NMe(3)) (TMAA) with XH acids were studied by means of IR and NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The dihydrogen-bonded (DHB) intermediates in the interaction of the TMAA with XH acids (CH(3)OH, (i)PrOH, CF(3)CH(2)OH, adamantyl acetylene, indole, 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluoroaniline, and 2,3,5,6-tetrachloroaniline) were examined experimentally at low temperatures, and the spectroscopic characteristics, dihydrogen bond strength and structures, and the electronic and energetic characteristics of these complexes were determined by combining experimental and theoretical approaches. The possibility of two different types of DHB complexes with polydentate proton donors (typical monodentate and bidentate coordination with the formation of a symmetrical chelate structure) was shown by DFT calculations and was experimentally proven in solution.