Reactions of arachno-6,8-C2B7H12- with electron deficient olefins: syntheses of cyano-substituted carboranes

The syntheses of new cyano-substituted derivatives of arachno-6,8-C(2)B(7)H(13) have been achieved through the addition reactions of the arachno-6,8-C(2)B(7)H(12)(-) (1-) anion with cyano-activated olefins. The reaction of PSH+1- with tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) yielded the unusual bridging compound PSH(+)endo-6-endo-7-micro(2)-(C(CN)(2))(2)]-arachno-6,8-C(2)B(7)H(12)(-) (PSH+2-)) resulting from cycloaddition of the TCNE at the C6-B7 edge of the anion. Consistent with its hypho skeletal electron count, an X-ray crystallographic study and DFT/GIAO calculations confirm 2(-) has a more open structure than 1-. The reaction of 1- with acrylonitrile resulted in the formation of endo-6-(NCCH(2)CH(2))-arachno-6,8-C(2)B(7)H(11)(-) (3-), which, upon acidification, afforded endo-6-(NCCH(2)CH(2))-arachno-6,8-C(2)B(7)H(12) (3) in high yield. X-ray crystallographic and DFT/GIAO studies established that the cyanoethyl fragment in 3 is substituted at the endo-position of the C6 cage-carbon. Heating 3 in THF at 50 degrees C or in toluene at 110 degrees C resulted in the quantitative isomerization of the cyanoethyl-substituent from the endo- to the exo-position at C6 to yield exo-6-(NCCH(2)CH(2))-arachno-6,8-C(2)B(7)H(12) (4). This is the first example of an endo to exo isomerization to be observed at a cage-carbon of a carborane. While heating 3 resulted in isomerization to 4, heating 3- in the presence of a small amount of 3 yielded the new ethylene-bridged 10-vertex tricarbaborane micro(6,9)-(CH(2)CH(2))-arachno-5,6,9-C(3)B(7)H(11) (5) resulting from reduction of the 3- pendant nitrile group, followed by deammination and carbon insertion.