Description
Flyer: Austin Ready Flyer
Title: Boron Clusters as Robust Building Blocks for the Expansion of Carbon-Based Chemistry
Abstract: Due to a delocalization of electron density, polyhedral boron clusters are often described as three-dimensional analogues of planar aromatic molecules such as benzene. Despite this electronic similarity, boron clusters can have drastically different chemical and physical properties compared to their carbon-based counterparts. In particular, our group studies the twelve vertex-containing boron cluster dodecaborate— [B12H12]2-— as a synthetic building block whose chemical reactivity and electrochemical behavior can be rationally modified by substituting the B-H vertices on the periphery of the cluster with various reactive functional groups. I will discuss the synthesis, chemical properties, and structure/bonding considerations pertaining to these derivatized B12 clusters, as well as potential applications relevant to the fields of materials science and energy storage.