First chemical complex consisting of rare earth metals and boron atoms produces unexpected results

Boron is an intriguing member of the periodic table because it readily forms stable compounds using only six electrons—two fewer than most other main-group elements. This means that chemists can easily add boron to unsaturated hydrocarbons, and then use electron-rich atoms, such as oxygen, to change organoborons into versatile units such as alcohols and esters. Recently, researchers found that combining transition metals with boron ligands produces catalysts powerful enough to transform even fully saturated hydrocarbons into new organic functionalities with high selectivity.

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