Se2B17H17: a selenaborane platform for coordination chemistry.
Bould Jonathan J, Litecká Miroslava M, Clegg William W, Kennedy John D JD et al.
Reaction of Se2B17H171 with [(dppe)NiCl2] and N,N'-dimethylnaphthalenediamine (tmnd) typically gives new nineteen-vertex n-[10-(dppe)-10,9,11'-NiSe2B16H16] 2a (63% yield) and new twelve-vertex [2-(dppe)-closo-2,1-NiSeB10H10] 3 (up to 9% yield) of known structural type. Occasionally, an isomer of 2a, specifically new iso-[10-(dppe)-10-9,9'-NiSe2B16H16] 2b, is obtained in yields of up to 4.5%. On one occasion, an isopropoxy-substituted derivative of 2a, specifically new [8-(Me2HCO)-10-(dppe)-10,9,11'-NiSe2B16H15] 4, was also isolated, a compound presumably resulting from an acetone impurity during the preparative process. Incidental to the work, the [Se2B17H16]- anion 5, was isolated as its [tmndH]+ salt 5a. New compounds 2a, 2b, 3, 4, and 5a were characterised by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, as well as by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, and by concordance with the results of DFT nuclear shielding calculations.