Beryllium borohydride explained

Beryllium borohydride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula .

Preparation

Beryllium borohydride is formed by the reaction of beryllium hydride with diborane in an ether solution.

It can also be formed by the reaction of beryllium chloride and lithium borohydride in a sealed tube at 120 °C:

Structure

The chemical formula of beryllium borohydride can be written as . The crystal structure is made up of a helical polymer of and structure units.[1] The borohydride ions,, adopt a tetrahedral geometry. Beryllium is 6-coordinate and adopts a distorted trigonal prismatic geometry.

Application

The purest beryllium hydride is obtained by the reaction of triphenylphosphine,, with beryllium borohydride, at 180 °C:

Notes and References

  1. Dennis S. . Marynick . William N. . Lipscomb . William Lipscomb . Crystal structure of beryllium borohydride . . 1 April 1972 . 11 . 4 . 820–823 . 10.1021/ic50110a033.