It is well known that donation of electron density from a metal atom back into an empty orbital on a coordinating ligand, such as an alkene, weakens the π bond. Now, it has been shown that in a metal–diborene complex, π-backdonation involves bonding π-orbitals on the ligand and leads to B–B bond strengthening.
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Himmel, HJ. Metal-reinforced bonding. Nature Chem 5, 88–89 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1554
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1554
