2845. Decaborane(14)

Nomenclature

CAS number: 17702-41-9
Decaboron tetradecahydride.
B10H14; mol wt 122.22.
B 88.46%, H 11.55%.

Description and references

Prepd by the pyrolysis of diborane(6). Reviews of chemistry: Griffo, Diss. Abstr. 22, 2976 (1962); Stanko et al., Usp. Khim. 34(6), 1011-1039 (1965). Review of structure and properties: Campbell, Jr., in Progress in Boron Chemistry vol. 1, Steinberg, McCloskey, Eds. (Macmillan, New York, 1964) pp 173-188. Reviews of toxicity: Levinskas, “Toxicology of Boron Compounds” in Boron, Metallo-Boron Compounds and Boranes, R. M. Adams, Ed. (Interscience, New York, 1964) pp 693-737; E. Browning, Toxicity of Industrial Metals (Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 2nd ed., 1969) pp 92-97. General reviews: Stock, Hydrides of Boron and Silicon (Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, 1933) passim; Siegel, Mack, J. Chem. Educ. 34, 314-317 (1957); Major, Chem. Eng. Prog. 54(3), 49-54 (1958); Lipscomb, Boron Hydrides (Benjamin, New York, 1963) passim; Adams in Boron, Metallo-Boron Compounds and Boranes loc. cit., pp 647-663; Hawthorn in Adv. Inorg. Chem. Radiochem. 5, 307-345 (1963); Greenwood in Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry vol. 1, J. C. Bailar, Jr. et al., Eds. (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1973) pp 818-837.

Properties

Orthorhombic crystals. mp 99.6-99.7°; bp 213°; bp19 100°. d425 0.94; d4100 (liq) 0.78. Stable indefinitely at room temp; decomp slowly into B + H2 at 300°. Heat of fusion: 7.8 kcal/mole; of sublimation: 18.33 kcal/mole; of vaporization: 11.6 kcal/mole. Slightly sol in cold water; hydrolyzes in hot water. Sol in ethyl acetate, 1-bromopropane, ethyl silicate, carbon disulfide, benzene, alcohol, acetic anhydride, acetic acid, ethyl borate, carbon tetrachloride. Highly reactive. Reacts with amides, acetone, butyraldehyde, acetonitrile at room temp. Decaborane mixtures with carbon tetrachloride are dangerously shock sensitive.

Caution

Potential symptoms of overexposure are dizziness, headache, nausea, lightheadedness and drowsiness; incoordination, local muscle spasms, tremor and convulsions; fatigue. See NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (DHHS/NIOSH 97-140, 1997) p 88. See also Patty's Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology vol. 2B, G. D. Clayton, F. E. Clayton, Eds. (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 3rd ed., 1981) 2987-2990.

Use

In rocket propellants; as catalyst in olefin polymerization.