Macropolyhedral Nickelaboranes from the Metal-Assisted Fusion of KBH.

The reaction of K[BH] with [NiCl(dppe)] produces four new 19-vertex macropolyhedral metallaboranes that result from borane cluster fusion: [9'-(dppe)-9'-Ni--BH] () and isomeric [11'-(dppe)-11'-Ni--BH] (), together with the chlorine-substituted derivative of , [5'-Cl-9'-(dppe)-9'-Ni--BH] (), and the 18-vertex cluster compound [7'-(dppe)-7'--NiBH] (). Two 10-vertex single-cluster species, [1-(dppe)-1-NiBHCl] () and [1-(dppe)-1--NiBHCl(OH)] (), were also isolated from the reaction. The production of the metalated -octadecaborane isomer from the fusion of two -nonaborate clusters is the first such case to be observed; in all other reported cases fusion has resulted in products with the octadecaboranyl configuration.