Intermetallic transfer of unsymmetrical borylene fragments: isolation of the second early-transition-metal terminal borylene complex and other rare species

Abstract

Transition metal borylene complexes of the type [(OC)₅MBN(SiMe₃)(tBu)] (M = Cr, Mo, W) have been synthesised by salt elimination of the corresponding dibromoborane and the dianionic metallates Na₂[M(CO)₅]. The borylene complexes have been characterised by multinuclear solution-state NMR spectroscopy and solid-state molecular structure determination. The group 6 borylene complexes can be used to effectively transfer the borylene ligand to other transition metal complexes by replacing one or two carbonyl ligands upon irradiation of the reaction mixture with UV light. This borylene transfer reaction led to the formation of new terminal and bridging borylene complexes which cannot be formed by the corresponding salt elimination reactions, including a rare example of a bis(terminal borylene) complex and only the second reported terminal borylene complex of an early transition metal (vanadium).