Boranes hydrocarbons

Methane is unique among hydrocarbons in being thermodynamically stable with respect to its elements. It follows that pyrolytic reactions to convert it to other hydrocarbons are energetically unfavourable and will be strongly equilibrium-limited. This is in marked contrast to the boranes where mild thermolysis of B2H6 or B4H10, for example, readily yields mixtures of the higher boranes (p. 164). Vast natural reserves of CH4 gas exist but much is wasted... 

The boranes are an extensive series of binary compounds of boron and hydrogen, somewhat analogous to the hydrocarbons. The starting point for borane production is the reaction (in an organic solvent) of sodium borohydride with boron trifluoride ... 

Monosodium L-glutamate (MSG), 12 49 Monosodium phosphate (MSP), 18 833 manufacture of, 18 853, 857-858 thermal dehydration of, 18 846 Monostatic optical arrangement, 23 139 Monosubstituted boranes, 13 635-636 Monoterpenoid alcohols, 24 500-528 bicyclic, 24 527-528 monocyclic, 24 509-527 Monoterpenoid aldehydes, 24 529-536 Monoterpenoid ethers, 24 528-529 Monoterpenoid hydrocarbons,... 

A comprehensive summary of the theoretical contributions over the past 40 years towards the understanding of the relationship between two-dimensional aromaticity (hydrocarbons) and the electronic structure of three-dimensional deltahedral boranes. Note in particular that rearrangement processes and the isocloso problem in metallaboranes have also been discussed.11... 

One might expect that a large number of isomers of polyboranes should exist as the number of boron atoms increases, similar to hydrocarbon chemistry. This, however, is not the case in borane chemistry. There are indeed only a few examples of proven isomerism, for instance for the B2oHi82 anions (see Section 5.8). However, this point has been addressed in many theoretical papers, and energy differences between various isomers of a polyborane are, in general, larger than in hydrocarbons. 

Tetraborane(lO) reacts, as does diborane, readily with unsaturated hydrocarbons. Alkenes give access to B2,B4-alkylene bridged B4H8(RCH-CHR) organo-boranes [37] while alkynes, allenes and l-ene-3-ynes lead to a variety of carba-boranes [38-40]. 

Benzylic alcohols were also converted to hydrocarbons by sodium borohy-dride [621], by chloroalane [622], by borane [623], by zinc [624], and by hy-driodic acid [225,625], generally in good to excellent yields. Hydrogenolysis of benzylic alcohols may be accompanied by dehydration (where feasible) [622],... 

For the reduction of aliphatic ketones to hydrocarbons several methods are available reduction with triethylsilane and boron trifluoride [772], Clemmensen reduction [160, 758] (p. 28), Wolff-Kizhner reduction [280, 281, 759] (p. 34), reduction of p-toluenesulfonylhydrazones with sodium borohydride [785], sodium cyanoborohydride [57i] or borane [786] (p. 134), desulfurization of dithioketals (jaeicaipioles) [799,823] (pp. 130,131) and electroreduction [824]. 

However, most frequently used methods for reduction of aromatic ketones to hydrocarbons are, as in the case of other ketones, Clemmensen reduction [160, 161, 758, 843, 844] Procedure 31, p. 213), Wolff-Kizhner reduction [280,281,282, 759, 774,845] Procedure 45, p. 216), or reduction of p-toluene-sulfonylhydrazones of the ketones with lithium aluminum hydride [811, 812] or with borane and benzoic acid [786]. 

Reduction of a, -unsaturated ketones to unsaturated hydrocarbon is rather rare, and is almost always accompanied by a shift of the double bond. Such reductions are accomplished in good to high yields by treatment of the p-toluenesulfonylhydrazones of the unsaturated ketones with sodium borohydride [785], borane [786] or catecholborane [559], or by Wolff-Kizhner reduction or its modifications [590]. However, complete reduction to saturated hydrocarbons may also occur during Wolff-Kizhner reduction [597] as well as during Clemmensen reduction [750]. 

This is one of two articles in this volume concerned with the borane-carborane structural pattern. In the other (see Williams, this volume, p. 67) Williams has shown how the pattern reflects the coordination number preferences of the various atoms involved. The purpose of the present article is to note some bonding implications of the pattern, and to show its relevance to a wide range of other compounds, including metal clusters, metal-hydrocarbon n complexes, and various neutral or charged hydrocarbons. 

Although boranes and hydrocarbons are more notable for their differences than for any similarities, there are several important hydrocarbon systems that adopt structures that conform to the borane pattern (202). They include tnetal-hydrocarbon v complexes, various aromatic systems, and certain other neutral or charged hydrocarbons. Representative examples are listed in Table VII. 

Benzvalene, CgHe, and the carbo cations C5H5+ and CeMee have already been cited (Section VI) as hydrocarbons of the same structural type as boranes and carboranes, and we have also seen that such aromatic... 

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