Halophosphinic acids reactions

The hydrogen atoms of the two CH groups are acidic, in contrast to those of the BH groups, which are hydridic. Therefore, selective functionalization of the carbon atoms is possible by electrophilic substitution or deprotonation with strong bases followed by subsequent reaction with electrophiles. However, the steric bulk of the clusters requires appropriate reactivity of the electrophile to obtain the desired product in acceptable yields. Phosphorus-containing compounds such as halophosphines are suitable for this type of functionalization of carboranes. In 1963, the first reaction with phosphines was described and until today it has ranained the method of choice for phosphorus functionalization of carboranes. 

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