Kinetic stabilization allows structural analysis of a benzoborirene.

ABSTRACT

Formal reduction of (2-bromophenyl)chloro(2,2'',4,4'',6,6''-hexaisopropyl-[1,1'3',1''-terphenyl]-2'-yl)borane with tert-butyl lithium at low temperatures yields a highly strained benzoborirene that is kinetically stabilized by the bulky terphenyl substituent. The target compound withstands heating to 80 °C, and represents the first benzoborirene fully characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The bond length pattern of the six-membered ring of the parent benzoborirene follows an anti-Mills-Nixon distortion.