Dendrimer- and nanostructure-supported carboranes and metallacarboranes: an account

The chemistry of boron clusters has developed into a mature discipline and its application in various fields continues to grow. Several interesting applications, such as their use in organometallic chemistry and catalysis, radionuclide extraction, and medicinal applications, are beyond the scope of this mini review and have been described elsewhere. Therefore, this mini review is limited to the latest findings in author’s laboratory with occasional references to the work of others. The use of carboranes and metallacarboranes in materials science is receiving unprecedented attention; for example, some of the most recent applications of boron clusters include their use in sensors, ion selective electrodes, and dye-sensitized solar cells. Basic synthetic tools to functionalize a variety of boron clusters are now available for controlled synthesis of boron containing molecules that could find specific applications in the field of materials science, including the syntheses of luminescent materials, polymers, coordination polymers, dendrimers, nanomaterials, magnetic nanomaterials, liquid crystals, and nonlinear optics.