Diborane bonding

This is known as a hydrogen-bridge structure. There are not enough electrons to make all the dotted-line bonds electron-pairs and hence it is an example of an electron-deficient compound. The structure of diborane may be alternatively shown as drawn in... 

Boranes are typical species with electron-deficient bonds, where a chemical bond has more centers than electrons. The smallest molecule showing this property is diborane. Each of the two B-H-B bonds (shown in Figure 2-60a) contains only two electrons, while the molecular orbital extends over three atoms. A correct representation has to represent the delocalization of the two electrons over three atom centers as shown in Figure 2-60b. Figure 2-60c shows another type of electron-deficient bond. In boron cage compounds, boron-boron bonds share their electron pair with the unoccupied atom orbital of a third boron atom [86]. These types of bonds cannot be accommodated in a single VB model of two-electron/ two-centered bonds. 

Figure 2-60. Soine examples of electron-deficient bonds a) diborane featuring B-H-B bonds b) diborane in a tentative RAMSES representation c) the orbital in a B-B-B bond (which occurs in boron cage compounds),...

There is a pronounced tendency for boron to become bonded to the less substituted car bon of the double bond Thus the hydrogen atoms of diborane add to C 2 of 1 decene and boron to C 1 This is believed to be mainly a steric effect but the regioselectivity of addition does correspond to Markovmkov s rule m the sense that hydrogen is the neg atively polarized atom m a B—H bond and boron the positively polarized one... 

Localized Bonds. Because boron hydrides have more valence orbitals than valence electrons, they have often been called electron-deficient molecules. This electron deficiency is partiy responsible for the great interest surrounding borane chemistry and molecular stmcture. The stmcture of even the simplest boron hydride, diborane(6) [19287-45-7] 2 6 sufficientiy challenging that it was debated for years before finally being resolved (57) in favor of the hydrogen bridged stmcture shown. 

Other expansion reactions between diborane and borane anions with a B—B edge bond have been reported (79), for example... 

The hydroboration step, being very sensitive to steric effects, yields only secondary alkylboranes from trisubstituted double bonds, whereas the less hindered alkylborane is formed predominantly from disubstituted steroidal double bonds. The diborane attack occurs usually towards the a-side and hence results in overall a-hydration of double bonds after alkaline hydrogen peroxide oxidation. ... 

The usefulness of the bond density surface is more apparent in the following model o diborane. The surface shows that diborane is not flat. It also shows that there is relatively little electron density between the two borons. Apparently there is no boron-boron bonr in this molecule. This is information that we can extract from the bond density surfact model. We do not have to assume this information in order to construct a model. We would need it in order to construct a conventional model. 

Bond density surface for diborane locates bonds. 

What happens if there are not enough electrons to form conventional two-electron bonds Diborane (B2H6 provides a good example. Were the molecule to look like ethane, how many valence electrons would be required tc hold it together How many valence electrons does diborane possess Examine the actual structure for diborane. 

Based on its structure and valence electron count, draw a Lewis structure or series of Lewis structures for diborane Examine the bond density surface. Does it substantiate 01 refute your speculation ... 

Diborane reacts with unhindered olefins to form trialkylboranes (the so-called hydroboration reaction, cf. Chapter 4). In this Chapter, several of the recently discovered carbon-carbon bond forming reactions of trialkylboranes are presented. 

A mixture of d- and l- hexoses also results from the hydroboration of these 5-enes. Hydroboration results in anti-Markownikoff, cw-hydration of the double bond and the amount of each hexose formed varies according to the nature of the substituent groups. For example, hydroboration (23) of methyl 6-deoxy-a-D-ryZo-hex-5-enopyranose (3) affords methyl a-D-glucopyranoside and methyl / -L-idopyranoside in the ratio of 1 2.5 respectively whereas hydroboration of the fris-trimethylsilyl ether of 3 afforded them in the ratio 1 0.6 respectively. The hydroboration method can be used to achieve specific labelling of hexoses with tritium methyl-/ -L-idopyranoside[5-H3] and methyl a-D-glucopyranoside [5-H3] were thus prepared (23). Similarly, hydroboration of the D-Zt/ro-hex-5-eno derivative (14) with diborane-H3 followed by removal of the isopropyli-dene group, afforded methyl a-D-mannopyranoside [5-H3] and methyl / -L-gulopyranoside [5-H3] in the ratio of 1 2 respectively (23). 

Acetyl-5//-dibenz[/>,/]azepine-10-car bon itrile (17, R = CN) when treated with sodium borohydride undergoes reduction (73 % yield) at the CIO - Cl 1 double bond without reduction of the acetyl or cyano groups.212 However, hydroboration of 5-acetyl-5//-dibenz[/y/]azepine (17, R = H) with diborane in tetrahydrofuran under standard conditions is accompanied by reduction of the acyl function to yield 5-ethyi-10,l l-dihydrodibenz[6,/]azepin-10-ol (18).72... 

Lewis s theory also fails to account for the compound diborane, B2H6, a colorless gas that bursts into flame on contact with air. The problem is that diborane has only 12 valence electrons (three from each B atom, one from each H atom) but, for a Lewis structure, it needs at least seven bonds, and therefore 14 electrons, to bind the eight atoms together Diborane is an example of an electron-deficient compound, a compound with too few valence electrons to be assigned a valid Lewis structure. Valence-bond theory can account for the structures of electron-deficient compounds in terms of resonance, but the explanation is not straightforward. 

The boranes are electron-deficient compounds (Section 3.8) we cannot write valid Lewis structures for them, because too few electrons are available. For instance, there are 8 atoms in diborane, so we need at least 7 bonds however, there are only 12 valence electrons, and so we can form at most 6 electron-pair bonds. In molecular orbital theory, these electron pairs are regarded as delocalized over the entire molecule, and their bonding power is shared by several atoms. In diborane, for instance, a single electron pair is delocalized over a B—H—B unit. It binds all three atoms together with bond order of 4 for each of the B—H bridging bonds. The molecule has two such bridging three-center bonds (9). 

X 14.111 (a) Examine the structures of diborane, B2H6, and AI2CI6(g), which can be found on the Web site for this book. Compare the bonding in these two je compounds. How are they similar (b) What are the differences, if any, in the types of bonds formed (c) What is the hybridization of the Group 13/III element (d) Are the molecules planar If not, describe their shapes. 

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