A study of the reactions of tetrabutylammonium octahydrotriborate with pentaborane(9) in toluene

The reaction of Bu4NB3H8 with B5H9 in toluene was studied in the temperature range 40-65 degreesC at the molar ratio Bu4NB3H8 : B5H9 = 1 :7. The composition of the reaction products and their molar ratios in the reaction mixture were established by B-11 NMR. Under the conditions used, the reaction yields the B9H14- and B11H14- anions. As the temperature increases, the B9H14- content decreases, while that of the B11H14- anion increases and reaches 55.6 mol % at 65 degreesC. At 40-50 degreesC, the reaction mixture also contains a BH4- anion (38.9 mol %), which disappears with the increase in temperature to 60 degreesC, and a B12H122- ion (29.6 mol %) appears. appears.