The NMR-spectroscopic and X-ray crystal-structural characterization of two Cp*Ir halfsandwich complexes containing the 1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane-1,2-diselenolato ligand

The reaction of [Cp*IrCl2](2) with dilithium 1,2-orthocarborane-1,2-diselenolate 3 leads to the green 16-electron diselenolene complex [Cp*Ir{Se2C2(B10H10)}] (4) which takes up two-electron ligands such as trimethylphosphane to give the 18-electron diselenolate derivative [Cp*Ir(PMe3)-{Se2C2(B10H10)}] (5). The molecular structures of 4 and 5 were determined by X-ray crystal structure analysis. The Se-77-nuclear shielding in 4 is lower by almost 500 ppm relative to that in 5.