title: A polar copper-boron one-electron σ-bond.
abstract: Virtually all chemical bonds consist of one or several pairs of electrons shared by two atoms. Examples of σ-bonds made of a single electron delocalized over two neighboring atoms were until recently found only in gas-phase cations such as H2(+) and Li2(+) and in highly unstable species generated in solid matrices. Only in the past decade was bona fide one-electron bonding observed for molecules in fluid solution. Here we report the isolation and structural characterization of a thermally stable compound featuring a Cu-B one-electron bond, as well as its oxidized (nonbonded) and reduced (two-electrons-bonded) congeners. This triad provides an excellent opportunity to study the degree of σ-bonding in a metalloboratrane as a function of electron count.
authors: Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors: Marc-Etienne
authors: ME
authors: Moret
authors: Limei
authors: L
authors: Zhang
authors: Jonas C
authors: JC
authors: Peters
mesh_terms: D001895:Boron / Q000737:chemistry*; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D004583:Electrons; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011789:Quantum Theory
chemical_list: D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D003300:Copper; D001895:Boron