@unpublished{WangArrowsmithBraunschweigetal.2017, author = {Wang, Sunewang Rixin and Arrowsmith, Merle and Braunschweig, Holger and Dewhurst, Rian and D{\"o}mling, Michael and Mattock, James and Pranckevicius, Conor and Vargas, Alfredo}, title = {Monomeric 16-Electron π-Diborene Complexes of Zn(II) and Cd(II)}, series = {Journal of the American Chemical Society}, journal = {Journal of the American Chemical Society}, doi = {10.1021/jacs.7b06644}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-153058}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Despite the prevalence of stable π-complexes of most d\(^{10}\) metals, such as Cu(I) and Ni(0), with ethylene and other olefins, complexation of d\(^{10}\) Zn(II) to simple olefins is too weak to form isolable complexes due to the metal ion's limited capacity for π-backdonation. By employing more strongly donating π- ligands, namely neutral diborenes with a high-lying π(B=B) or- bital, monomeric 16-electron M(II)-diborene (M = Zn, Cd) π- complexes were synthesized in good yields. Metal-B2 π- interactions in both the solid and solution state were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analyses and their solution NMR and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, respectively. The M(II) centers adopt a trigonal planar geometry and interact almost symmetrically with both boron atoms. The MB2 planes significantly twist out of the MX\(_2\) planes about the M-centroid(B-B) vector, with angles rang- ing from 47.0° to 85.5°, depending on the steric interactions be- tween the diborene ligand and the MX\(_2\) fragment.}, language = {en} } @unpublished{LegarePranckeviciusBraunschweig2019, author = {L{\´e}gar{\´e}, Marc-Andr{\´e} and Pranckevicius, Conor and Braunschweig, Holger}, title = {Metallomimetic Chemistry of Boron}, series = {Chemical Reviews}, journal = {Chemical Reviews}, doi = {10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00561}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-186317}, year = {2019}, abstract = {The study of main-group molecules that behave and react similarly to transition-metal (TM) complexes has attracted significant interest in recent decades. Most notably, the attractive idea of replacing the all-too-often rare and costly metals from catalysis has motivated efforts to develop main-group-element-mediated reactions. Main-group elements, however, lack the electronic flexibility of TM complexes that arises from combinations of empty and filled d orbitals and that seem ideally suited to bind and activate many substrates. In this review, we look at boron, an element that despite its nonmetal nature, low atomic weight, and relative redox staticity has achieved great milestones in terms of TM-like reactivity. We show how in interelement cooperative systems, diboron molecules, and hypovalent complexes the fifth element can acquire a truly metallomimetic character. As we discuss, this character is powerfully demonstrated by the reactivity of boron-based molecules with H2, CO, alkynes, alkenes and even with N2.}, language = {en} }