What is the Difference Between Closo Nido and Arachno Boranes?

🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚

The key difference between closo nido and arachno boranes lies in the number of skeletal bonding electron pairs in their structures:

  • Closo boranes have n+1 skeletal bonding electron pairs.
  • Nido boranes have n+2 skeletal bonding electron pairs.
  • Arachno boranes have n+3 skeletal bonding electron pairs.

These structures are named according to the Wade rules, which correlate the skeletal structures of boranes, carboranes, hetero-boranes, and their anions (closo, nido, arachno, hypho). The structures can be categorized as closo, nido, or arachno depending on the arrangement of skeletal atoms (boron atoms).

  • Closo boranes are closed deltahedra without B-H-B 3c,2e-bonds and are thermally stable and moderately reactive. An example of a closo borane is (\ce{[B5H5]^{2-}}), which forms a trigonal, bipyramidal polyhedron.
  • Nido boranes are closo boranes with one corner less and the addition of two hydrogen atoms instead, with B-H-B-bonds and B-B-bonds being possible. Their thermally stability lies between closo and arachno boranes. An example of a nido borane is (\ce{B{n} H{n + 4}}).
  • Arachno boranes resemble spiderwebs and are named according to Wade's rules. An example of an arachno borane is (\ce{B{n} H{n + 6}}).

In summary, the main difference between closo nido and arachno boranes is the number of skeletal bonding electron pairs in their structures, which determines their classification and properties.

Comparative Table: Closo Nido vs Arachno Boranes

The key difference between closo nido and arachno boranes lies in the number of skeletal bonding electron pairs. Here is a summary of their characteristics:

Property Closo Nido Arachno Boranes
Skeletal Bonding Electron Pairs n+1 n+3
Structure Closed Deltahedra Octahedron with two removed corners
Thermal Stability Moderate Higher than closo but lower than nido
Examples B6H62- B4H10

Closo boranes have a closed deltahedral structure without B-H-B 3c,2e-bonds and are thermally stable and moderately reactive. Arachno boranes have an octahedron structure with two corners removed, and their thermal stability lies between closo and nido boranes.