Gas Phase Boranes and Carboranes

Gas Phase Boranes and Carboranes

At Leeds with Greatrex I carried out a systematic, synthetic and mechanistic study of gas phase reactions of a wide range of binary boranes (B₂H₆, B₄H₁₀, B₅H₉, B₅H₁₁ and B₆H₁₀) with various unsaturated hydrocarbons. The reactions were monitored continuously by mass spectroscopy to give detailed product analyses as a function of time and fractionated products of the completed or quenched reactions were monitored further by high field multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. Several novel carboranes and high yield syntheses of known carboranes were discovered. For example B₄H₁₀ and allene gave the smallest arachno-carborane whereas B₄H₁₀ and ethyne gave, until recently, the smallest nido-carborane. A general route to the smallest tricarbaborane has also been discovered. The complex mechanisms of B₄H₁₀ with alkenes, enynes and alkynes have been described in detail.

11. Gas-phase reactions of tetraborane(10) with 1-en-3-ynes: syntheses of the parent tricarbahexaborane, nido-2,3,4-C₃B₃H₇ and its derivatives

      M. A. Fox, R. Greatrex and A. Nikrahi,

      Chem. Commun., 1996,175-176.

23. Gas-phase reaction of tetraborane(10) and ethyne: Molecular structure of nido-1,2-C₂B₃H₇ in the gas phase.

      M. A. Fox, R. Greatrex, A. Nikrahi, P.T. Brain, M.J. Picton, D.W.H. Rankin, H.E. Robertson, M. Bühl, L. Li and R.A. Beaudet,

      Inorg. Chem., 1998, 37, 2166-2176.

78. Quenched gas-phase reactions of tetraborane(10), B₄H₁₀, with substituted alkynes: new nido-dicarbapentaboranes and arachno-monocarbapentaboranes

      M. A. Fox, R. Greatrex and A. Nikrahi,

      Dalton Trans., 2008, 676-684.

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