Pure and Applied Chemistry

Abstract: An overview of the syntheses, structures, and reactivity of the compounds formed by the incorporation of a number of d- and f-block metals into C₂B₄- and C₂B₉-carborane cages have been presented. In addition,the development of a safe, bench-scale preparation of the toxic and commercially unavailable polyhedral borane synthon, namely pentaborane(9), has also been described. Thus, this report discusses the latest developments leading to a sys- tematic synthetic approach to a number of carborane precursors and the subsequent reaction chemistry in the formation of a number of “carbons-apart ”metallacarboranes.