One coordinate carbon and boron: Universal progenitor ligands. Compounds with bonds between metals and carbon (organometallic chemistry) underpin innumerable important industrial processes from fine chemicals to bulk agrochemical and polymer synthesis. Yet the simplest example, a single atom of carbon bound to a metal has only recently been discovered and is poorly understood. Australia's fledgling boron fine chemicals industry similarly benefits from metal-based processes. However, compounds wi ....One coordinate carbon and boron: Universal progenitor ligands. Compounds with bonds between metals and carbon (organometallic chemistry) underpin innumerable important industrial processes from fine chemicals to bulk agrochemical and polymer synthesis. Yet the simplest example, a single atom of carbon bound to a metal has only recently been discovered and is poorly understood. Australia's fledgling boron fine chemicals industry similarly benefits from metal-based processes. However, compounds with a single boron atom bound to a metal remain unknown. This proposal addresses metal-carbon and metal-boron chemistry from the most basic perspective, that of a single atom of boron or carbon, including the development of novel synthetic approaches and skills for the characterisation of such curious species.Read moreRead less