Infrared Spectroscopy and Bonding of the B(NN)3+ and B2(NN)3,4+ Cation Complexes.

The boron-dinitrogen cation complexes B(NN)3+ and B2(NN)3,4+ are produced in the gas phase and are studied by infrared photodissociation spectroscopy in the N-N stretching vibrational frequency region. The geometric and electronic structures are determined by comparison of the experimental spectra with density functional theory calculations. The B(NN)3+ cation is characterized to have a closed-shell singlet ground state with planar D3h symmetry. The B2(NN)3+ cation is determined to have a B═B bonded (NN)2BBNN structure with C2v symmetry. Two isomers of the B2(NN)4+ cation contribute to the experimental spectrum. One is a N2-tagged complex involving a B2(NN)3+ core ion. Another one is a B-B bonded B2(NN)4+ complex with a planar D2h structure. Bonding analyses reveal that the B-NN interactions in these complexes come mainly from covalent orbital interactions, with the NN → B σ donation being stronger than the B → NN π back-donation.