CB11H10- and Related Carborenes

Inorg Chem. 2020 Sep 8;59(17):12453-12460. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c01557. Epub 2020 Aug 26.

Abstract

Starting with HOOC-CB11Me11- or CB11Me12- as the starting material, collision-induced dissociation has produced a series of methylated analogs of didehydro-closo-carbadodecaborane anions by sequential losses of up to 5 equiv of ethylene. These reactive intermediates are carborane analogues of doubly pyramidalized alkenes and, more distantly, arynes. Density functional theory calculations have been used to develop a proposal for the mechanism of the unusual formation of ethylene from the carborane methyl substituents.