Strong metal–borane interactions in low-valent cyclopentadienyl rhodium complexes

Abstract

The first examples of half-sandwich Rh(I) complexes stabilized by borane coordination have been prepared and structurally characterized. As substantiated by NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, the phosphine–borane ligand iPr₂P-(o-C₆H₄)-BFxyl₂ 1 [Fxyl = 3,5-(F₃C)₂C₆H₃] engages in tight η³-BCC or η¹-B coordination, depending on the metal environment.