Opening of Carborane Cages by Metal Cluster Complexes: The Reaction of a Thiolate-Substituted Carborane with Triosmium Carbonyl Cluster Complexes.

The reaction of Os3(CO)10(NCMe)2 with closo-o-(1-SCH3)C2B10H11 has yielded the complex Os3(CO)9[μ3-η(3)-C2B10H9(SCH3)](μ-H)2, 1, by the loss of the two NCMe ligands and one CO ligand from the Os3 cluster and the coordination of the sulfur atom and the activation of two B-H bonds with transfer of the hydrogen atoms to the cluster. Reaction of 1 with a second equivalent of Os3(CO)10(NCMe)2 yielded the complex Os3(CO)9(μ-H)[(μ3-η(3)-1,4,5-μ3-η(3)-6,10,11-C2B10H8S(CH3)]Os3(CO)9(μ-H)2, 2, that contains two triosmium triangles attached to the same carborane cage. The carborane cage was opened by cleavage of two B-C bonds and one B-B bond. The B-H group that was pulled out of the cage became a triply bridging group on one of the Os3 triangles but remains bonded to the cage by two B-B bonds. When heated to 150 °C, 2 was transformed into the complex Os3(CO)9(μ-H)[(μ3-η(3)-μ3-η(3)-C2B10H7S(CH3)]Os3(CO)9(μ-H), 3, by the loss of two hydrogen atoms and a rearrangement that led to further opening of the carborane cage. Reaction of 1 with a second equivalent of closo-o-(1-SCH3)C2B10H11 has yielded the complex Os3(CO)6)(μ3-η(3)-C2B10H9-R-SCH3) (μ3-η(3)-C2B10H10-S-SCH3)(μ-H)3, 4a, containing two carborane cages coordinated to one Os3 cluster. Compound 4a was isomerized to the compound Os3(CO)6(μ3-η(3)-C2B10H9-R-SCH3)(μ3-η(3)-C2B10H10-R-SCH3)(μ-H)3, 4b, by an inversion of stereochemistry at one of the sulfur atoms by heating to 174 °C.