diborane(6)
Sign in to saveDiborane(6), commonly known as diborane, is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly toxic, colorless, and pyrophoric gas with a repulsively sweet odor. Given its simple formula, diborane is a fundamental boron compound. It has attracted wide attention for its unique electronic structure. Several of its derivatives are useful reagents.
Article
15 sectionsContents
- Structure and bonding
- Production and synthesis
- Reactions
- Air, water, oxygen
- Lewis acidity
- Hydroboration
- Other
- Reagent in organic synthesis
- History
- Other uses
- Safety
- References
- Cited sources
- Further reading
- External links
Diborane(6), commonly known as diborane, is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly toxic, colorless, and pyrophoric gas with a repulsively sweet odor. Given its simple formula, diborane is a fundamental boron compound. It has attracted wide attention for its unique electronic structure. Several of its derivatives are useful reagents.
==Structure and bonding== thumb|class=skin-invert-image|left|Bonding diagram of diborane () showing with curved lines a pair of three-center two-electron bonds, each of which consists of a pair of electrons bonding three atoms; two boron atoms and a hydrogen atom in the middle The structure of diborane has D2h symmetry. Four hydrides are terminal, while two bridge between the boron centers. The lengths of the B–Hbridge bonds and the B–Hterminal bonds are 1.33 and 1.19 Å respectively. This difference in bond lengths reflects the difference in their strengths, the B–Hbridge bonds being relatively weaker. The weakness of the B–Hbridge compared to B–Hterminal bonds is indicated by their vibrational signatures in the infrared spectrum, being ≈2100 and 2500 cm−1 respectively.