Electrochemical Oxidation of [1-X-12-I-CB11Me10-] Anions: Formation of Borenium Ylides [12-Dehydro-1-X-CB11Me10] and Iodonium Ylide Anions [{12-(1-X-CB11Me10-)}2I+]

Anion-Anion Chemistry with Mass-Selected Molecular Fragments on Surfaces

While reactions between ions and neutral molecules in the gas phase have been studied extensively, reactions between molecular ions of same polarity remain relatively unexplored. Herein we show that reactions between fragment ions generated in the gas phase and molecular ions of the same polarity are possible by soft-landing of both reagents on surfaces. The reactive [B₁₂ I₁₁ ]^1- anion was deposited on a surface layer built up by landing the generally unreactive [B₁₂ I₁₂ ]^2- . Ex-situ analysis of the generated material shows that [B₂₄ I₂₃ ]^3- was formed. A computational study shows that the product is metastable in the gas phase, but a charge-balanced environment of a grounded surface may stabilize the triply charged product, as suggested by model calculations. This opens new opportunities for the generation of highly charged clusters using unconventional building blocks from the gas phase.

Anodic Oxidation of 18 Halogenated and/or Methylated Derivatives of CB11H12. Inorg Chem 2016;56:269-276. [PMID: 27936641 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.6b02126]

Anodic oxidation of [CB₁₁H₁₂]^- and 18 of its halogenated and/or methylated derivatives was examined. Reversible oxidation was found for four of the anions in liquid SO₂ and for four more in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropyl alcohol. The oxidation occurred at ∼1 V (for [CB₁₁Me₁₂]^-) up to more than 4 V (for [1-H-(2-6)-F₅-(7-12)-(CF₃)₆-CB₁₁]^-) relative to ferrocene/ferricinium. The anodic peak potentials are reproduced by a set of additive position-sensitive substituent increments.