Cluster compounds lithium alkyls

To illustrate the wide and developing scope of hypercarbon chemistry by illustrating the variety of compounds now known to contain hypercarbon atoms (carbocations,organometallics, carboranes, metal-carbon cluster compounds," and metal carbides ).They include bridged metal alkyls such as alkyl-lithium reagents (LiR) in which the hypercoordinated nature of the metal-attached carbon atoms, and the roles that the metal atoms play in their chemistry, are often overlooked. 

Justus et al. (2008a) published Af,Al,Al-trialkylammonioundecahydro-do5 0-dodecaborates(l-) as anions for ILs, which were obtained by alkylation of deprotonated [B,2H NH3] with cations such as lithium, potassium, and protons (Figure 29.14). This anion structure allows to vary to a large extent the properties of the anion, which is not readily achieved with the other anionic cluster compounds. 

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