Small cage d10 metallacarboranes: crystal structure of the mercury bridged carborane, μ,μ′-[2-(Si(CH3)3)-3-(CH3)-2,3-C2B4H5]2Hg

Abstract The reaction of nido -1-Na(TMEDA)-2-(Si(CH 3 ) 3 -3-(CH 3 )-2,3-C 2 B 4 H 5 , with anhydrous HgCl 2 in a 2:1 carborane to metal molar ratio produced the bridged compound μ,μ ′ -[2-(Si(CH 3 ) 3 )-3-(CH 3 )-2,3-C 2 B 4 H 5 ] 2 Hg ( 1 ). The structure of 1 was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction that showed the compound to have C 2 symmetry, with each carborane being η 2 -bonded to the mercury center.