[(Triphos)Ni(η²-BH₄)]:  An Unusual Nickel(I) Borohydride Complex

Reduction of [(triphos)NiCl₂] (1) with an excess of NaBH₄ in THF produces the paramagnetic Ni(I) complex [(triphos)Ni(η²-BH₄)] (2). X-ray crystallography shows 1 to be a square-planar Ni(II) species in which the phosphine ligand is bidentate, whereas 2 has pseudotetrahedral geometry at the Ni(I) center, with a tridentate phosphine and the borohydride ligand occupying a single coordination site. Density functional theory calculations show the unpaired electron in 2 to reside in an orbital located mainly on the Ni atom.