Understanding and Harnessing the Unique and Curious Metal Boron Bond: Unlocking the Metallaboratrane

Metal-boron dative bonding (M->B) represents the diametric reverse of classical coordination chemistry. Boron is less electronegative than most transition metals and hence the well-established rules do not always apply. The first examples of M->B bonding involved transannular M->B bonds supported within cage structures (metallaboratranes). This proposal addresses such interactions within a wider context by exploring whether such interactions can occur unsupported in non-cage structures, the diversity of cage components, the reactivity of this unique class of metal-ligand bonding, the extension to other electropositive p-block elements and the relevance to metal-mediated synthetic protocols (Suzuki coupling, hydroboration, diboration).