A series of organoantimony(iii) halide complexes with a tetrahydrodibenzo[c,f][1,5]azastibocine framework were synthesized and employed as water tolerant Lewis acid catalysts. The results of a systematic structure-activity relationship study demonstrated that the strength of N -> Sb donor-acceptor interaction could be synergistically modulated by tuning the properties of the nitrogen substituents and halogen atoms adjacent to the central antimony atom, and consequently resulted in distinct catalytic performances towards organic reactions such as Mannich, cross-condensation, cyclization-aromati...
