Chemistry:Pentaborane(11)

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Pentaborane(11)
EntryWithCollCode36283.png
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
EC Number
  • 242-307-4
UNII
Properties
B5H11
Molar mass 65.14 g·mol−1
Melting point −123 °C (−189 °F; 150 K)
Boiling point 63 °C (145 °F; 336 K)
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references

Pentaborane(11) is inorganic compound with the chemical formula B5H11. It is an obscure boron hydride cluster, especially relative to the heavily studied pentaborane(9) (B5H9). With two more hydrogen atoms than nido-pentaborane(9), pentaborane(11) is classified as an arachno- cluster.[1]

Synthesis

Like many boron hydride clusters, pentaborane(11) was originally obtained from the pyrolysis of diborane. A more systematic synthesis entails treatment of [B4H9] with boron tribromide. The Lewis acid abstracts hydride to give unstable B4H8, the precursor to B5H11:[2]

[B4H9] + BBr3 → B4H8 + HBBr3
2 B4H8 → B5H11 + "B3H5"

References

  1. Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-08-037941-8. 
  2. Toft, Mark A.; Leach, J. B.; Himpsl, Francis L.; Shore, Sheldon G. (1982). "New, Systematic Syntheses of Boron Hydrides via Hydride ion Abstraction Reactions: Preparation of B2H6, B4H10, B5H11, and B10H14". Inorganic Chemistry 21 (5): 1952–7. doi:10.1021/ic00135a048.