This white crystalline solid is used to prepare other tetraphenylborate salts, which are often highly soluble in organic solvents.

[2] Addition of sodium tetraphenylborate to a solution of a tertiary amine and an acid chloride in acetonitrile gives the acylonium salt by precipitating NaCl from the reaction mixture.

This method has a broad scope:[3] Sodium tetraphenylborate is also employed as a phenyl donor in palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions involving vinyl and aryl triflates to give arylalkenes and biaryl compounds in good yields and under mild conditions, respectively.

[4] Tetraphenylborates are often studied in organometallic chemistry because of their good solubility in nonpolar solvents and their crystallinity.

For example, the homoleptic trimethylphosphite complexes {M[P(OCH3)3]5}2+ (Ni, Pd, and Pt) have been prepared as their tetraphenylborate salts.