Work

Synthesis, reactivity and nucleophilicity of carboranyl-B-Mg compound

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The reactivity of boron is most commonly defined by its Lewis acidity and its reactivity as an electrophile. Recently, nucleophilic boron anions have attracted tremendous research interest for offering alternative routes to a variety of boron compounds. Herein, we report the synthesis and structure of a nucleophilic boron anionic salt featuring an exo-polyhedral B-Mg bond. In sharp contrast to the known borylmetals, this bottleable compound does not have any heterocyclic backbones or supporting π-ligands. Its structure has been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analyses. The calculated NPA charge of -0.503 at B(4) indicates the highly polarized B-Mg bond. It is shown to act as an unambiguous reactive nucleophile through its reactions with a broad range of organic, main-group, and transition-metal electrophiles.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64017-6

Authors: Yizhen Liu, Jie Zhang, Zuowei Xie

Institutions: Southern University of Science and Technology, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Language: English

Topic: Organoboron and organosilicon chemistry

Subfield: Organic Chemistry

Field: Chemistry

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $6,990

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee, Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality