A new molecule, dioxaborirane, has been synthesized by MIT researchers, capable of both donating oxygen atoms and reacting with carbon dioxide.
Discovery
Researchers from MIT have synthesized dioxaborirane, a molecule containing a three-member ring of one boron and two oxygen atoms. The synthesis occurs at room temperature through the reaction of a specially designed boron molecule with oxygen gas.
Properties
Dioxaborirane exhibits two distinct behaviors depending on its electrical charge:
- It can donate oxygen atoms to facilitate chemical synthesis.
- It can react with carbon dioxide, potentially enabling greenhouse gas capture and transformation.
Publication
The findings were published on April 24 in Nature Chemistry in an open-access study. The research was led by Chonghe Zhang, an MIT chemistry graduate student co-advised by professors Christopher C. Cummins and Robert J. Gilliard, Jr.
"This molecule represents a new approach to both synthetic chemistry and environmental applications."
Additional co-authors include Noah D. McMillion and Chun-Lin Deng of MIT, and Junyi Wang of Baylor University. The work was funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation.