Functional Group Directed B-H Activation of Polyhedral Boron Hydrides by Transition Metal Complexes (Review)

Activation of B-H groups of polyhedral boron hydrides (boranes and carboranes) is one of the most actively developing areas of boron chemistry and is of considerable interest for specialists in organic chemistry, organometallic catalysis, and coordination chemistry. This review summarizes the data on the functional group directed B-H activation reactions of polyhedral boron hydrides by transition metal complexes, beginning from the early 1980s and ending with the most recent advances in this area. The formation of complexes of transition metals with M center dot center dot center dot H-B and M-B bonds and their use in the synthesis of various organic derivatives of (car)boranes are considered.