Coordination and Activation of the BF Molecule

Abstract

No CO: Fluoroborylene (BF), isoelectronic with CO and N2, can be trapped by a transition metal. The structurally characterized complex [{CpRu(CO)2}2(μ - BF)] contains an unsupported bridging BF ligand, which is unprecedented in the structural chemistry of CO. With AlCl3 , metal-bound CO coordinates through the O atom without bond rupture, while the more polar and less π-bonded BF ligand is heterolytically cleaved (see picture). © 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.