Pentaborane(11) is inorganic compound with the chemical formula B5H11. It is an obscure boron hydride cluster, especially relative to the heavily studied pentaborane(9) (B5H9). With two more hydrogen atoms than nido-pentaborane(9), pentaborane(11) is classified as an arachno- cluster.[1]
Synthesis
Like many boron hydride clusters, pentaborane(11) was originally obtained from the pyrolysis of diborane. A more systematic synthesis entails treatment of [B4H9]− with boron tribromide. The Lewis acid abstracts hydride to give unstable B4H8, the precursor to B5H11:[2]
^Toft, Mark A.; Leach, J. B.; Himpsl, Francis L.; Shore, Sheldon G. (1982). "New, Systematic Syntheses of Boron Hydrides via Hydride ion Abstraction Reactions: Preparation of B2H6, B4H10, B5H11, and B10H14". Inorganic Chemistry. 21 (5): 1952–7. doi:10.1021/ic00135a048.