B-H bond iodination of polyhedral dimolybdaborane and dimolybdathiaborane clusters

Reaction of [Cp*MoCl4] (Cp* = η5- C5Me5) with excess of [LiBH4·thf] followed by pyrolysis with NaI yielded B-I inserted [(Cp*Mo) 2B5H9-nIn], 1-3 (1: n = 1; 2: n = 2; 3: n = 3). In parallel to the formation of 1-3, the reaction also produced known [(Cp*Mo)2B5H9] and [(Cp*Mo)2(μ-I)4] in good yields. Under the similar reaction conditions, dimolybdathiaborane [(Cp*Mo) 2B4H4S2] yielded iodine substituted dimolybdathiaboranes, [(Cp*Mo)2B4S2H 4-nIn], 4 and 5 (4: n = 2; 5: n = 3) in good yields. All the new compounds have been characterized in solution by IR, 1H and 11B NMR as simple substituted derivatives of [(Cp*Mo) 2B5H9] and [(Cp*Mo)2B 4H4S2]. The solid state structures were established unambiguously by crystallographic analysis of compounds 1-5. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.