Metallocarboranes with twelve vertices

Our approach to the subject has been to divide the metallocarboranes according to the size of the polyhedron. Starting with twelve-vertex compounds, which constitute the majority of the effort, we proceed to the larger polyhedra, so far unknown in the B H 2 and C2B 2H series, and then to the lower polyhedra. Further subdivisions within each polyhedral size include synthesis, structures, and properties of monometallic complexes, reactions of monometal lies, bimetallic preparations and reactions, and, in two instances, trimetallic compounds. 

It should be noted that in the polyhedral expansion process, as idealized in Eqs. (5) and (6), the product mctallocarborane has one more vertex than was present in the carborane starting material—hence the origin of the descriptive phrase polyhedral expansion. By contrast, wThen metallocarboranes are prepared by reaction with O2B9H112- ions, which are prepared from the icosahedral C2B10H12 carboranes, twelve-vertex metallocarboranes result. 

Degradation of the icosahedral 1,2- and 1,7-C2Bi0Hi2 isomers with strong base to produce the nido eleven-vertex anions 7,8- and 7,9-CoB9Hi2-has been previously discussed and is an important route to the preparation of twelve-vertex monometallocarboranes. The discovery that similar reactions could be performed on metallocarboranes led to the isolation of novel chains of metal atoms bridged by carborane groups and to the development of the polyhedral contraction and polyhedral subrogation reactions. 

Only one trimetallic twelve-vertex metallocarborane has been reported. This species, (C5H5)3Co3C2B7H9, arose as a side product during the polyhedral expansion of 2-C5H6-2-Co-l,6-C2B7H9 with Co(II) and C6H5 (25, 28). The isolation of this trimetallic complex suggests that the polyhedral expansion reaction may be extended to bimetallic substrates to produce novel metal-rich polyhedra. 

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