Reactions of pentaborane(9) and pentaborane derivatives

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/ic50054a007

The preparations of a number of pentaborane derivatives are described and ¹¹B and ¹H nmr spectra recorded and correlated. Assessments of alternative preparative schemes are given. An extension of the apex to base rearrangement reaction to polyalkyl pentaboranes reveals the following trends: the rate of rearrangement decreases with increasing number of alkyl substituents on the pentaborane framework; the rate increases with the use of stronger and less sterically hindered bases. Mechanistic inferences are discussed.