Abstract
Good yield synthetic routes for the production of new B-alkyl-dithiaborane clusters are reported. The syntheses of the B-alkyl-dithiaboranes are based on the use of Fischer-type carbene reagents to activate the B-H bonds of dithiaborane for alkyl-addition reactions and are the first examples of transition-mediated reactions of dithiaborane to be reported. Thus, reactions employing arachno-$S_2B_7H_8$- and $(CO)_5M{C(R_1)R_2}$ (M = Cr, W; $R_1 = CH_3,\;C_6H_5;\; R_2 = OCH_3,\;SC_6H_5)$ were found to yield the intermidiate anions I, $[(CO)_5M{C(R_1)R_2S_2B_7H_8}]^-$, which upon protonation gave the corresponding neutral, air-sensitive cluster arachno-4-$RCH_2-6,8-S_2B_7H_8(R=CH_3,\;IIa;\;C_6H_5,\;IIb)$ range from 30 to 35% yield. Complexes IIa and IIb are isoelectronic with arachno-6,8-$S_2B_7H_9$ and, on the basis of the spectroscopic data, are proposed to adopt a similar arachno cage geometry in which an $RCH_2$ units are substituted to 4 position boron atom of the arachno-6,8-$S_2B_7H_9$.