What is "carborane"

n. (context organic chemistry English) Any of a class of organic compounds of boron, mostly having a polyhedral structure.

[[Image:Carborane-acid-3D-balls.png|thumb|right|Ball-and-stick model of the carborane acid anion [CHBCl] (acidic proton not displayed)

Colour scheme:
hydrogen − white,
chlorine − green,
boron − pink,
carbon − black.]] A carborane is a cluster composed of boron, carbon and hydrogen atoms. Like many of the related boranes, these clusters are polyhedra and are similarly classified as closo-, nido-, arachno-, hypho-, etc. based on whether they represent a complete (closo-) polyhedron, or a polyhedron that is missing one (nido-), two (arachno-), or more vertices. Carboranes are a notable example of heteroboranes.

Interesting examples of carboranes are the extremely stable icosahedral closo-carboranes. These boron-rich clusters exhibit unique organomimetic properties with chemical reactivity matching classical organic molecules, yet structurally similar to metal-based inorganic and organometallic species

A prominent example is the charge-neutral CBH or o-carborane with the prefix o derived from ortho, which has been explored for use in a wide range of applications from heat-resistant polymers to medical applications. The electronic structure of these compounds is best described by Wade-Mingos rules for cluster molecules. Another important carborane is carborane acid, a chlorinated superacid H(CHBCl), which has an anion structure shown at right.