1. Controlled homocatenation of boron on a transition metal.
- Author
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Braunschweig, Holger, Ye, Qing, Vargas, Alfredo, Dewhurst, Rian D., Radacki, Krzysztof, and Damme, Alexander
- Subjects
TRANSITION metals ,BORON ,NUCLEAR magnetic resonance spectroscopy ,INFRARED spectroscopy ,DENSITY functionals - Abstract
Only a handful of elements are able to be controllably homocatenated (that is, to be formed into one- or two-dimensional chains or rings of the element), because most have weak element-element bonds. Boron forms strong B-B bonds, but its favourable cluster formation makes homocatenation very difficult. Recently, the coupling of borylene (:BR) ligands on a metal was predicted computationally. We have brought this prediction to fruition experimentally, and extended it by adding two further borylene units, stepwise forming a B
4 chain bound to a metal under mild conditions. This complex is a useful model for understanding the metal-boron interactions required to promote transition of the boron atoms from borylene ligands to oligoborane networks bound side-on. The concept shows great promise for the controlled construction of one-dimensional boron chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2012
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