Synthesis and serendipity in boron chemistry: A 50 year perspective

•Unexpected discoveries have played a major role in the history of science.•Serendipitous findings have changed the direction of research and opened new areas.•The interplay between planned synthesis and serendipity is illustrated by example.

Chance discovery is ubiquitous in the history of science, especially in areas where theory has tended to lag behind experimental findings. In fields such as organometallic and boron cluster chemistry, serendipity has been particularly important in opening new directions and shaping the evolution of these fields. In this article selected examples from the author's half century of research in borane, carborane, and metallaborane chemistry are used to illustrate the often intricate interplay between unexpected findings and targeted synthesis.

Graphical abstractThe graphical abstract illustrates one example of an unexpected finding cited in the paper, i.e., the oxidative fusion of two iron-bound carborane ligands to form tetracarbon carborane products.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide