An eleven-vertex metallaborane with tetracapped pentagonal bipyramidal geometry

Area of Science:

• Inorganic Chemistry
• Organometallic Chemistry
• Boron Chemistry

Background:

• Metallaboranes are clusters containing boron and metal atoms.
• Exploring novel structures and geometries in metallaboranes is crucial for understanding chemical bonding and reactivity.
• The synthesis of complex polyhedral clusters often involves intricate reaction pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel metallaborane with an unprecedented structure.
• To investigate the structural and electronic properties of the newly formed compound.
• To explore the reactivity of boron-selenium clusters with iron carbonyl complexes.

Main Methods:

• Reaction of [(Cp*Mo)(2)B(4)H(4)Se(2)] (1) with [Fe(2)(CO)(9)].
• Isolation and purification of the novel metallaborane product.
• Structural characterization using X-ray crystallography and spectroscopic methods (implied).

Main Results:

• Isolation of a novel metallaborane, [(Cp*Mo)(2)B(3)H(3)Se(2){Fe(CO)(2)}(2){Fe(CO)(3)}(2)] (2).
• The compound exhibits a unique tetracapped pentagonal bipyramidal geometry.
• The structure features an 11-vertex closo-cage, consistent with its 8 skeletal electron pairs and 98 valence electrons.

Conclusions:

• A novel metallaborane with a complex and unique cage structure has been successfully synthesized.
• The observed tetracapped pentagonal bipyramidal geometry is consistent with theoretical predictions for such electron counts.
• This work expands the known structural diversity of metallaborane clusters.