Ambient-temperature isolation of a compound with a boron-boron triple bond.
Homoatomic triple bonds between main-group elements have been restricted to alkynes, dinitrogen, and a handful of reactive compounds featuring trans-bent heavier elements of groups 13 and 14. Previous attempts to prepare a compound with a boron-boron triple bond that is stable at ambient temperature have been unsuccessful, despite numerous computational studies predicting their viability. We found that reduction of a bis(N-heterocyclic carbene)-stabilized tetrabromodiborane with either two or four equivalents of sodium naphthalenide, a one-electron reducing agent, yields isolable diborene and diboryne compounds. Crystallographic and spectroscopic characterization confirm that the latter is a halide-free linear system containing a boron-boron triple bond.
Institut für Anorganische Chemie, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany. h.braunschweig@uni-wuerzburg.de
Holger
H
Braunschweig
Rian D
RD
Dewhurst
Kai
K
Hammond
Jan
J
Mies
Krzysztof
K
Radacki
Alfredo
A
Vargas