Features of the formation of zinc(II) and cadmium(II) complexes with the inner-sphere and outer-sphere position of the decahydro-closo-decaborate anion in the presence of azaheterocyclic ligands

In the present work, we studied reactions between Cd(II) or Zn(II) salts and the closo-decaborate anion [B10H10]2- in the presence of azaheterocyclic ligands L (L = 2,2?-bipyridyl (bipy), 2,2?-bipyridylamine (bpa), and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen)). It was found that, depending on the nature of organic ligands L, solvents, and synthetic conditions, complexes with the inner-sphere and outer-sphere positions of the boron cluster were formed with different composition and structures. The structure of tris-chelate complex [Zn(bipy)3][B10H10] and mixed-ligand complexes [Zn(bpa)2(NO3)]2[B10H10], [Cd(bipy)2[B10H10]], and [Zn(bpa)2[B10H10]] were studied by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Compounds [Cd(bipy)2[B10H10]] and [Zn(bpa)2[B10H10]] contain the coordinated boron cluster anion, the latter complex being the first example of a zinc(II) complex with the coordinated boron cluster anion.

Automated summary

The reactions between Cd(II) or Zn(II) salts and the closo-decaborate anion [B10H10]2- in the presence of azaheterocyclic ligands resulted in the formation of complexes with different structures and compositions. Structural studies of the complexes revealed the coordination of the boron cluster anion, with the zinc(II) complex [Zn(bpa)2[B10H10]] being the first reported example.