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Updated: Jul 20, 2025

Isolating Free Carbenes, their Mixed Dimers and Organic Radicals
Published on: April 19, 2019
Redox-active carborane clusters in bond activation chemistry and ligand design
Bryce C Nussbaum1, Amanda L Humphries1, Gayathri B Gange1
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, 631 Sumter St, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA. peryshkov@sc.edu.
Abstract:
Icosahedral closo-dodecaboranes have the ability to accept two electrons, opening into a dianionic nido-cluster. This transformation can be utilized to store electrons, drive bond activation, or alter coordination to metal cations. In this feature article, we present cases for each of these applications, wherein the redox activity of carborane facilitates the generation of unique products. We highlight the effects of exohedral substituents on reactivity and the stability of the products through conjugation between the cluster and exohedral substituents. Futher, the utilization of the redox properties and geometry of carborane clusters in the ligand design is detailed, both in the stabilization of low-valent complexes and in the tuning of ligand geometry.
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