Some examples of unusual skeletal bonding topologies in metallaboranes containing two or three early transition metal vertices.
The metallaboranes (CpM)(2)B(n)H(n+4) (M = Cr, Mo, W; n = 4, 5; Cp = eta(5)-C(5)H(5), eta(5)-C(5)Me(5)), (CpW)(2)B(7)H(9), (CpRe)(2)B(7)H(7), and (CpW)(3)B(8)H(9) have the 2v or 2v + 2 skeletal electrons for closo or isocloso deltahedra (v = number of polyhedral vertices) if the early transition metal vertices are assumed to contribute four or more internal orbitals rather than the usual three internal orbitals for BH vertices. The polyhedra for the metallaboranes (CpM)(2)B(n)H(n+4) (M = Cr, Mo, W; n = 4, 5) are derived from (n + 1)-gonal bipyramids by removal of an equatorial vertex. The deltahedra for the larger metallaboranes (CpW)(2)B(7)H(9), (CpRe)(2)B(7)H(7), and (CpW)(3)B(8)H(9) are derived from the corresponding B(n)H(n)(2)(-) deltahedra (n = 9 and 11 in these cases) by sufficient diamond-square-diamond processes to provide vertices of degrees > or = 6 for each of the CpM vertices. Reasonable skeletal bonding topologies in accord with the availability of skeletal electrons and orbitals consist of surface 2c-2e and 3c-2e bonds supplemented by metal-metal bonding through the center of the polyhedron.
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Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.