A snapshot of inorganic Janovsky complex analogues featuring a nucleophilic boron center

The addition of phenyl lithium (PhLi) to an aromatic 1,3,2,5-diazadiborinine (1) afforded isolable ionic species 2, which can be deemed as an inorganic analogue of a Janovsky complex. X-ray diffraction analysis and DFT studies of 2 indicate the delocalization of π-type electrons mainly over the C–B–C unit in the central B₂C₂N₂ six-membered ring. The reactions of 2 with methyl iodide (MeI) and chloro(tricyclohexylphosphine)gold(I) (Cy₃PAuCl) gave 3 bearing a B–Me bond and 4 featuring a B–Au bond, respectively, demonstrating the nucleophilic properties of the tricoordinate boron center in 2.