Stop rotating! One substitution halts the B19₁₉⁻ motor

Chem Commun (Camb). 2014 Sep 21;50(73):10680-2. doi: 10.1039/c4cc03698k. Epub 2014 Jul 31.

Abstract

The B19(-) anion and other boron species have been dubbed 'Wankel motors' for the almost barrierless rotation of inner and outer concentric rings relative to each other in these compounds. A single substitution in B19(-) is shown to shut down the well-established fluxionality in the anion. A carbon atom substituted in the structure to give a neutral CB18 species is shown computationally to enforce bond localization.