Categorization of Boranes Into Clan Series

Abstract

Boranes, despite their instability in nature, can be regarded as hydrocarbon relatives since a [BH] fragment corresponds to a carbon [C] skeletal element in terms of the number of valence electrons. The borane formula which can be expressed as BnHm usually appears in such a way that when (n) is even, then (m) is even and when (n) is odd, (m) is odd as well. Through the study of cluster series, it appears that the cluster number K which represents skeletal linkages is usually a whole number. This inherent characteristic confers unique order within borane clusters with nodal connectivity of 5 and the polyhedral nature of the borane clusters. The orderliness of the borane clusters is reflected by the ease of their categorization into clan series and their readily constructed geometrical isomeric structures. The cluster valence electrons can easily be calculated using one of the six recently discovered fundamental equations.