A new class of purely inorganic ligands: carboranylphosphinic acids Una nova classe de lligands purament inorgànics: els àcids carboranilfosfínics

Dicarba-closo-dodecaboranes (or carboranes) are icosahedral clusters of empirical formula C2B10H12. Depending on the relative position of the carbon atoms in the cluster, three isomers can be distinguished: ortho(1,2), meta(1,7) and para(1,12). Our group focused this research on the first two: orthoand meta-carborane isomers. The high symmetry, remarkable stability and versatile reactivity of these clusters allow their functionalization according to a desired application. Our group and others were interested in carboranylphosphorus compounds, mostly due to their properties as ligands for organometallic chemistry and enantioselective catalysis. Among them are carboranylphosphines and carboranylphosphines with P(V) moieties, except carboranyl phosphinates and carboranyl phosphonates. Few studies are found in the literature on carboranyl phosphinic and phosphonic acids. Our research goal has been devoted to developing preparation and characterization of carboranyl phosphinates, aiming towards the designing of purely inorganic ligands that are capable to coordinate to metals producing stable water-soluble polynuclear systems. The influence of the boron cluster on the reactivity of the phosphinate group was studied as well.