Polyhedral Dipalladaborane Chemistry. The Molecular Structure and Cluster Electron Count of [7,8-(PPh3)2-7,8-(μ-PPh2)-9,11-(OEt)2-nido-7,8-Pd2B9H8]

Abstract

[PdCl2(PPh3)2] and the [NHEt3]+ salt of [B10H10]2- in refluxing ethanol yield the dipalladaundecaborane cluster compound [7,8-(PPh3)2-7,8-(μ-PPh2)-9,11-(OC2H5)2-nido-7,8-Pd2B9H8] (1). An all-atom single-crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction study shows a significant difference to four structurally characterised platinum congeners reported in the literature for which revised formulation is now necessary. The importance of taking into consideration the electron count in polyhedral boron-containing cluster systems in the course of their characterisation is emphasised.