In this work, we introduce a novel approach for the selective assembly of heterometallic complexes by unprecedented coordination of coinage metal cations to strained single ruthenium–boron bonds on a surface of icosahedral boron clusters. M( i ) cations (M = Cu, Ag, and Au) insert into B–Ru bonds of the (BB)–carboryne complex of ruthenium with the formation of four-membered B–M–Ru–B metalacycles. Results of theoretical calculations suggest that bonding within these metalacycles can be best described as unusual three-center-two-electron B–M⋯Ru interactions that are isolobal to B–H⋯Ru borane coordination for M = Cu and Ag, or the pairs of two-center-two electron B–Au and Au–Ru interactions for M = Au. These transformations comprise the first synthetic route to exohedral coinage metal boryl complexes of icosahedral closo -{C 2 B 10 } clusters, which feature short Cu–B (2.029(2) Å) and Ag–B (2.182(3) Å) bonds and the shortest Au–B bond (2.027(2) Å) reported to date. The reported heterometallic complexes contain Cu( i ) and Au( i ) centers in uncharacteristic square-planar coordination environments. These findings pave the way to rational construction of a broader class of multimetallic architectures featuring M–B bonds.
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“Bottled” spiro-doubly aromatic trinuclear [Pd 2 Ru] + complexes
Following an ongoing interest in the study of transition metal complexes with exotic bonding networks, we report herein the synthesis of a family of heterobimetallic triangular clusters involving Ru and Pd atoms. These are the first examples of trinuclear complexes combining these nuclei. Structural and bonding analyses revealed both analogies and unexpected differences for these [Pd 2 Ru] + complexes compared to their parent [Pd 3 ] + peers. Noticeably, participation of the Ru atom in the π-aromaticity of the coordinated benzene ring makes the synthesized compound the second reported example of ‘bottled’ double aromaticity. This can also be referred to as spiroaromaticity due to the participation of Ru in two aromatic systems at a time. Moreover, the [Pd 2 Ru] + kernel exhibits unprecedented orbital overlap of Ru d z2 AO and two Pd d xy or d x2−y2 AOs. The present findings reveal the possibility of synthesizing stable clusters with delocalized metal–metal bonding from the combination of non-adjacent elements of the periodic table which has not been reported previously.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1664379
- PAR ID:
- 10201162
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Chemical Science
- ISSN:
- 2041-6520
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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