Syntheses of Halogenated Polyhedral Phosphaboranes: Crystal Structure of conjuncto‐3,3′‐(closo‐1,2‐P2B4Br3)2

Abstract

Co‐pyrolysis of B2Br4 with PBr3 at 480 °C gave, in addition to the main product closo‐1,2‐P2B4Br4, conjuncto‐3,3′‐(1,2‐P2B4Br3)2 (1) and the twelve‐vertex closo‐1,7‐P2B10Br10 (2), both in low yields. X‐ray structure determination for 1 [triclinic, space‐group P1 with a = 7.220(2) Å, b = 7.232(2) Å, c = 8.5839(15) Å, α = 97.213(15)°, β = 96.81(2)°, γ = 94.07(2)° and Z = 1] confirmed that 1 adopts a structure consisting of two symmetrically boron–boron linked distorted octahedra with the bridging boron atoms in the 3,3′‐positions and the phosphorus atoms in the 1,2‐positions. The intercluster 2e/2c B–B bond length is 1.61(3) Å. The shortest boron–boron bond within the cluster framework is 1.68(2) Å located between the boron atoms antipodal to the phosphorus atoms. The icosahedral phosphaborane 2 was characterized by 11B‐11B COSY NMR spectroscopy showing cross peaks indicative for the isomer with the phosphorus atoms in 1,7‐positions. Both the X‐ray data of 1 and the NMR spectroscopic data of 1 and 2 give further evidence for the influence of an antipodal effect of heteroatoms to cross‐cage boron atoms and, vice versa, of an additional shielding of the phosphorus atoms caused by B‐Hal substitution at the boron positions trans to phosphorus.