Diborane

Diborane (B₂H₆) is a highly reactive, electron-deficient boron hydride with two bridging hydrogen atoms. It is used in chemical synthesis and as a precursor to other boron compounds.

Three-center two-electron bond: A covalent bond in which three atoms share a pair of electrons. Two such bonds connect the bridging hydrogens to both boron atoms.
Hydroboration: The addition of a boron–hydrogen bond across a carbon–carbon multiple bond. Diborane generates borane reagents that add across alkenes and alkynes.
Boron: A chemical element with atomic number 5 and three valence electrons. Each boron atom contributes three valence electrons to diborane’s bonding framework.
Alfred Stock: A German chemist who pioneered the systematic study of boron hydrides. Stock and his collaborators isolated and characterized diborane during their borane research.
Molecular orbital theory: A framework that describes electrons as occupying orbitals spread over molecules. It accounts for bonding across each boron–hydrogen–boron bridge.
Borane–tetrahydrofuran complex: A donor–acceptor complex that stabilizes borane in tetrahydrofuran solution. It is a safer, more convenient borane source than handling gaseous diborane.
Hydrogen: A chemical element with atomic number 1 and one valence electron. Diborane’s terminal and bridging hydrogen atoms play distinct structural roles.
Boron hydride chemistry: The study of compounds containing boron–hydrogen bonds and clusters. Diborane became a key starting point for understanding this unusual chemistry.
Electron-deficient compound: A compound whose valence-electron count is insufficient for conventional localized two-center bonds. Diborane lacks enough valence electrons to form ordinary bonds between all neighboring atoms.
Sodium borohydride: An ionic boron hydride commonly used as a reducing agent. It supplies hydride for reductions without requiring diborane’s highly reactive gas.

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