Les synthèses par sol-gel non-hydrolytique (SGNH) d'oxydes mixtes Re-Si-Al et Mo-Si-Al sont présentées comme une voie innovante pour la préparation en une étape de catalyseurs hétérogènes de métathèse. Les catalyseurs supportés à base d'oxyde de molybdène sont intéressants du fait de leur faible coût d'achat, de leur résistance mécanique et de leur bonne activité à température modérée. Les catalyseurs supportés à base d'oxyde de rhénium sont connus pour être très actifs et sélectifs même à température ambiante. Cependant ils sont chers et la sublimation de l'oxyde de rhénium pose problème lors de leur synthèse. La synthèse utilisée est basée sur la réaction en une étape des précurseurs chlorés (ReCl5 ou MoCl3, SiCl4, AlCl3) avec du diisopropyléther (iPr2O) à 110 °C dans le dichloromethane. Le faible coût des précurseurs, l'absence de modificateurs de réactivité et de templates ainsi que la simplicité de synthèse rendent le procédé SGNH particulièrement attractif. Les catalyseurs oxydes mixtes obtenus présentent des compositions bien contrôlées, des textures mésoporeuses et avec des densités en sites acides élevées. La caractérisation par DRX, XPS et ToF-SIMS montre que les catalyseurs peuvent être décrits comme une matrice silice-alumine amorphe avec des espèces de surface Mo et Re bien dispersées. Pour les catalyseurs à base de Re, dans les compositions riches en silice, des pertes de rhénium ont été observées durant la calcination. Cette perte de rhenium peut être évitée en augmentant le taux d'alumine dans la composition. De plus, nous avons montré que la sublimation de Re, au cours de la calcination dans les compositions riches en silice, n'a pas lieu quand toutes les étapes du procédé (synthèse, lavage, séchage et calcination) sont réalisées en l'absence d'humidité. Nous avons étudié l'influence de la composition sur la texture, la structure, l'acidité et les propriétés de surface, qui sont corrélées aux performances catalytiques. Les performances des catalyseurs Re-Si-Al et Mo-Si-Al ont été évaluées en métathèse du propène et en métathèse croisée de l'éthène et du trans-2-butène. Les catalyseurs SGNH sont comparés à des catalyseurs avec des compositions similaires préparés par d'autres méthodes (imprégnation, thermal spreading, flame spray pyrolysis). Les catalyseurs préparés par SGNH présentent une très bonne activité spécifique en métathèse. / The non-hydrolytic sol-gel synthesis (NHSG) of Re-Si-Al and Mo-Si-Al mixed oxides was proposed as an innovative one step route to heterogeneous olefin metathesis catalysts. Supported molybdenum oxide catalysts are receiving much attention as a result of their relatively low price, robustness and good activity at low temperature. Supported rhenium oxide catalysts are known to be highly active and selective even at room temperature. However, they are expensive and moderately stable because of the sublimation of the rhenium oxide. The NHSG synthesis used in this work is based on the one pot reaction of chloride precursors (ReCl5 or MoCl3, SiCl4, AlCl3) with diisopropylether (iPr2O) at 110 °C in dichloromethane. The simplicity of NHSG makes it attractive: multi-step procedures, expensive precursors, or reactivity modifiers are not needed. The mixed oxide catalysts exhibited well-controlled compositions and mesoporous textures, with high acid site densities. XRD, XPS and ToF-SIMS showed that the catalysts could be described as an amorphous silica-alumina matrix with well-dispersed Re or Mo surface species. In the case of Re-based catalysts, rhenium losses by sublimation during calcination were observed for the silica-rich formulations. The loss of rhenium could however be avoided by increasing the Al content. More importantly we demonstrate that Re sublimation during calcination of silica-rich formulations is suppressed when the whole preparation procedure (synthesis, washing, drying and calcination) is carried out in the absence of water. Particular attention was devoted to the study of the influence of the composition on texture, structure, acidity and surface properties, which were correlated with the catalytic performances. The performance of selected Re-Si-Al and Mo-Si-Al catalysts was evaluated in the metathesis of propene and in the cross-metathesis of ethene and trans-2-butene. The NHSG catalysts were compared to catalysts of similar compositions prepared by other more methods (impregnation, thermal spreading, flame spray pyrolysis). The catalysts prepared by NHSG have a high specific activity in the metathesis reaction.

Techn. Universiẗat, Diss., 2002--Berlin.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2002--Düsseldorf.

Techn. Universiẗat, Diss., 2003--Berlin.

This diploma thesis is focused on the preparation of enantiomerically pure compounds based on organocatalytic allylic substitution using Baylis-Hillman carbonates. As selected substrates for the allylic substitution were chosen α-azidoketones such as azidoacetophenone, 2-azido-1-indanone and then heterocyclic compounds (N-phenylrhodanine and its derivate) belonging to the pharmaceutical privileged compounds. Other substrate for allylic substitution was allylmalononitrile. In addition, this thesis includes with synthesis of cyclic compounds based on the reaction of products of allylmalononitrile with B-H carbonates using olefin metathesis.

This Diploma Thesis presents results obtained by solution of two partial projects: a) Preparation of monomers from renewable sources using metathesis and tandem hydrogenation catalyzed with ruthenium compounds - project solved during my Erasmus stay at the Université de Rennes 1 in France; b) Preparation and properties of ,-bis(tpy)quarterthiophene oligomers carrying ionic side groups as oligomonomers for polyelectrolyte conjugated dynamers - project solved at the Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague. Project a): Self-metathesis of 1,2-epoxyhex-5-ene (but-3-enyloxirane) and its cross-metathesis with methyl acrylate and acrylonitrile catalyzed with ruthenium compounds as well as tandem design of these metatheses and consecutive hydrogenation of their products by gaseous hydrogen have been optimized. The following influences have been studied and tuned: (i) type of the catalyst (Grubbs, Hoveyda, Zhan) and its concentration and method of dosing, (ii) concentration of reactants and additives, (iii) type of solvent, and (iv) reaction temperature. Reactions were monitored by the GC, GC and MS methods and the products were characterized by the NMR method. Methyl 6,7-epoxyheptanoate (methyl 5-oxiranylpentanoate) obtained by the tandem...

Phosphorus plays a crucial role in modern p-block chemistry.1 One reason for that is the diagonal relationship between phosphorus and carbon.2 Comparable to carbon and its chemistry, phosphorus tends to form homoatomic bonds, which is explainable by the relatively high P–P single bond energy (ca. 200 kJ/mol).3 Thus, a plethora of poly-phosphorus compounds are reported in the last decades comprising of fascinating bonding motifs4 and interesting applications in coordination5-7 and synthetic8-11 chemistry, as well as in ligand design.12,13 A crucial point in the chemistry of polyphosphanes is of course the formation of P–P bonds. Numerous synthetic procedures are established and reviewed including salt metathesis,4a,14 dehalosilylation15 and dehalostannylation16 reactions, base promoted dehydrohalogenation reactions17 and dehydrogenative coupling reactions mediated by main group compounds18 or catalysis by transition metals.5,19 Moreover, dialkylamino-substituted phosphanes are used in condensation reactions to form P–P bonds since the early 1960’s. Yet these reactions need elevated temperatures, somewhat limiting the formation of polyphosphorus compounds as stated by the few examples reported.17d,20 The application of pyrazolyl-substituted phosphanes in P–P bond formation reactions is a relatively young field of research.21 Their synthesis and general chemical behavior as well as advantages in comparison to dialkylamino-substituted phosphanes is discussed in the following chapter.

Les produits naturels d’origine marine constituent un très grand groupe des produits naturels avec des motifs structuraux très variés. De nombreux membres de ce groupe sont des cibles en synthèse totale de par leurs activités biologiques (anticancéreux, antibiotiques, ….). L’objectif principal de ce travail est la synthèse totale de produits naturels d’origine marine dotés d’activités biologiques, et la synthèse d’analogues structuraux pour effectuer des tests biologiques en appliquant des réactions de métathèse et de la photochimie. La première synthèse totale de l’amphiastérine B4 et celle de nombreux analogues structuraux ont été réalisées. L’application des réactions de métathèse/cyclopropanation en mode séquentiel a permis la synthèse totale de deux produits naturels, le grenadamide et l'acide cascarillique. / The natural products of marine origin constitute a large group of natural products with very different structural motifs. Many members of this group are targets for total synthesis of their biological activities (anticancer, antibiotics, ...). The main objective of this work is the total synthesis of natural products of marine origin with biological activities, and synthesis of structural analogues for biological testing using metathesis reactions and photochimie. The first total synthesis of amphiasterine B4 and that many structural analogues were réalisées. The application of metathesis reactions / cyclopropanation in sequential mode has the total synthesis of two natural products, and grenadamide acid Cascarilla.

It is known that boron containing compounds exhibit interesting chemical and physical properties. In the past 50 years modern preparative methods have led to an overwhelming number of different structures of novel and often unexpected boron–sulfur and boron–selenium compounds. Among all these new compounds, there was only one which comprises rare earth metal (RE), boron and heavier chalcogen, namely sulfur, the europium thioborate Eu[B2S4] [1]. Selenoborates of rare earth metals are hitherto unknown. On the other hand, rare earth oxoborates represent a well-known class of compounds [2] with a wide range of applications, especially in the field of optical materials. In addition, well-defined boron compounds containing the heavier group 16 elements are fairly difficult to prepare due to the high reactivity of in situ formed boron chalcogenides towards most container materials at elevated temperatures. The chalcogenoborates of the heavier chalcogens are sensitive against oxidation and hydrolysis and therefore have to be handled in an inert environment. Therefore, developing and optimization of preparative routes for the syntheses of pure and crystalline RE thio- and selenoborates was needed. In the course of this study, the application of different preparation routes, such as optimized high-temperature routes (HT), metathesis reactions and high-pressure high-temperature routes (Hp – HT), led to sixteen new rare earth thioborates. Their crystal structures were solved and/or refined from powder and single crystal X-ray diffraction data, while the local structure around rare earth metal was confirmed from the results of the EXAFS analyses. Quantum mechanical calculations were used within this work in order to investigate the arrangement of intrinsic vacancies on the boron sites in the crystal structures of rare earth thioborates. Thermal, magnetic and optical properties of these compounds are also discussed. The rare earth thioborates discovered during this work are the first examples of ternary thioborates containing trivalent cations. These compounds can be divided into two groups of isotypic compounds: the rare earth orthothioborates with general formula REIII[BS3] (RE = La – Nd, Sm, Gd and Tb) [3] and the rare earth thioborate sulfides with general formula REIII¦9B5S21, (RE = Gd – Lu, and Y) [4]. In the crystal structure of RE[BS3] (orthorhombic, space group Pna21, Z = 4), the sulfur atoms form the vertices of corrugated kagome nets, within which every second triangle is occupied by boron and the large hexagons are centered by RE cations. The structural features of the isotypic RE[BS3] phases show great similarities to those of rare earth oxoborates RE[BO3] and orthothioborates of alkali and alkaline earth metals as well as to thallium orthothioborate, yet pronounced differences are also observed: the [BS3]3– groups in the crystal structures of RE[BS3] are more distorted, where the distortion decreases with the decreasing size of the RE element, and the coordination environments of the [BS3]3– groups in the crystal structures of RE[BS3] are different in comparison with the coordination environments of the [BO3]3– groups in the crystal structures of λ-Nd[BO3] [5] and of o-Ce[BO3] [6]. The results of the IR and Raman investigations are in agreement with the presence of [BS3]3– anions in the crystal structure of RE[BS3]. Thermal analyses revealed the thermal stability of these compounds under inert conditions up to ~ 1200 K. Analyses of the magnetic properties of the Sm, Gd and Tb thioborates showed that both Gd and Tb phases order antiferromagnetically. The magnetic susceptibility for Sm orthothioborate approximately follows the Van-Vleck theory for Sm3+. Between 50 K and 62 K a transition appears which is independent of the magnetic field: the magnetic susceptibility becomes lower. This effect might indicate a discontinuous valence transition of Sm which was further investigated by means of XANES and X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation, both at low temperatures. The series of isotypic RE thioborate sulfides with composition RE9B5S21, was obtained by the application of Hp – HT conditions to starting mixtures with the initial chemical composition “REB3S6“, after careful optimization of the pressure, temperature and treatment time, as well as the composition of the starting mixtures. Their crystal structures adopt the Ce6Al3.33S14 [7] structure type (hexagonal, space group P63, Z = 2/3). The special features of the RE9B5S21 crystal structures, concerning boron site occupancies and different coordination environments of the two crystallographically independent boron sites, were investigated in more detail by means of quantum chemical calculations, electron diffraction methods, optical and X-ray absorption spectroscopy as well as by 11B NMR spectroscopy. The results obtained from these different experimental and computational methods are in good mutual agreement. The crystal structures of the RE9B5S21 compounds are characterized by two types of anions: tetrahedral [BS4]5– and trigonal planar [BS3]3– as well as [(S2–)3] units. Isolated [BS4]5– tetrahedra (all pointing with one of their apices along the polar [001] direction) represent a unique feature of the crystal structure which is observed for the first time in a thioborate compound. These tetrahedra are stacked along the three-fold rotation axes. Vacancies are located at the trigonal-planar coordinated boron site with preferred ordering –B–B––B–B–– along [001]. No superstructure is observed by means of electron diffraction methods as adjacent columns are shuffled along the c axis, giving rise to a randomly distributed vacancy pattern. Positions of the sulfur atoms within the [(S2–)3] substructure as well as planarity of the [BS3]3– units were investigated in more detail by means of quantum mechanical calculations. Results of the IR and Raman spectroscopy, as well as of the 11B NMR spectroscopy are in agreement with the presence of the boron atoms in two different coordination environments. Thermal analyses showed that compounds RE9B5S21 are stable under inert conditions up to ~ 1200 K. In accordance with the combined results of experimental and computational investigations, the chemical formula of the RE9B5S21 compounds is consistent with RE3[BS3]2[BS4]3S3. A short overview of investigations towards rare earth selenoborates, where in most of the cases only known binary rare earth selenides could be identified, is presented as well in this work. Investigations in the RE–B–Se systems were conducted by the application of different preparation routes by varying the experimental parameters and the initial compositions of the starting mixtures. Although no crystal structure of a ternary phase in these systems could be solved, there are indications that such phases exist, but further investigations are needed. [1] M. Döch, A. Hammerschmidt, B. Krebs, Z. Anorg. Allg. Chem., 2004, 630, 519. [2] H. Huppertz, Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 131; and references therein. [3] J. Hunger, M. Borna, R. Kniep, J. Solid State Chem., 2010, 182, 702; J. Hunger, M. Borna, R. Kniep, Z. Kristallogr. NCS, 2010, 225, 217; M. Borna, J. Hunger, R. Kniep, Z. Kristallogr. NCS, 2010, 225, 223; M. Borna, J. Hunger, R. Kniep, Z. Kristallogr. NCS, 2010, 225, 225. [4] M. Borna, J. Hunger, A. Ormeci, D. Zahn, U. Burkhardt, W. Carrillo-Cabrera, R. Cardoso-Gil, R. Kniep, J. Solid State Chem., 2011, 184, 296; [5] H. Müller-Bunz, T. Nikelski, Th. Schleid, Z. Naturforsch. B, 2003, 58, 375. [6] H. U. Bambauer, J. Weidelt, J.-St. Ysker, Z. Kristallogr., 1969, 130, 207. [7] D. de Saint-Giniez, P. Laruelle, J. Flahaut, C. R. Séances, Acad. Sci. Ser. C, 1968, 267, 1029.

It is known that boron containing compounds exhibit interesting chemical and physical properties. In the past 50 years modern preparative methods have led to an overwhelming number of different structures of novel and often unexpected boron–sulfur and boron–selenium compounds. Among all these new compounds, there was only one which comprises rare earth metal (RE), boron and heavier chalcogen, namely sulfur, the europium thioborate Eu[B2S4] [1]. Selenoborates of rare earth metals are hitherto unknown. On the other hand, rare earth oxoborates represent a well-known class of compounds [2] with a wide range of applications, especially in the field of optical materials. In addition, well-defined boron compounds containing the heavier group 16 elements are fairly difficult to prepare due to the high reactivity of in situ formed boron chalcogenides towards most container materials at elevated temperatures. The chalcogenoborates of the heavier chalcogens are sensitive against oxidation and hydrolysis and therefore have to be handled in an inert environment. Therefore, developing and optimization of preparative routes for the syntheses of pure and crystalline RE thio- and selenoborates was needed. In the course of this study, the application of different preparation routes, such as optimized high-temperature routes (HT), metathesis reactions and high-pressure high-temperature routes (Hp – HT), led to sixteen new rare earth thioborates. Their crystal structures were solved and/or refined from powder and single crystal X-ray diffraction data, while the local structure around rare earth metal was confirmed from the results of the EXAFS analyses. Quantum mechanical calculations were used within this work in order to investigate the arrangement of intrinsic vacancies on the boron sites in the crystal structures of rare earth thioborates. Thermal, magnetic and optical properties of these compounds are also discussed. The rare earth thioborates discovered during this work are the first examples of ternary thioborates containing trivalent cations. These compounds can be divided into two groups of isotypic compounds: the rare earth orthothioborates with general formula REIII[BS3] (RE = La – Nd, Sm, Gd and Tb) [3] and the rare earth thioborate sulfides with general formula REIII¦9B5S21, (RE = Gd – Lu, and Y) [4]. In the crystal structure of RE[BS3] (orthorhombic, space group Pna21, Z = 4), the sulfur atoms form the vertices of corrugated kagome nets, within which every second triangle is occupied by boron and the large hexagons are centered by RE cations. The structural features of the isotypic RE[BS3] phases show great similarities to those of rare earth oxoborates RE[BO3] and orthothioborates of alkali and alkaline earth metals as well as to thallium orthothioborate, yet pronounced differences are also observed: the [BS3]3– groups in the crystal structures of RE[BS3] are more distorted, where the distortion decreases with the decreasing size of the RE element, and the coordination environments of the [BS3]3– groups in the crystal structures of RE[BS3] are different in comparison with the coordination environments of the [BO3]3– groups in the crystal structures of λ-Nd[BO3] [5] and of o-Ce[BO3] [6]. The results of the IR and Raman investigations are in agreement with the presence of [BS3]3– anions in the crystal structure of RE[BS3]. Thermal analyses revealed the thermal stability of these compounds under inert conditions up to ~ 1200 K. Analyses of the magnetic properties of the Sm, Gd and Tb thioborates showed that both Gd and Tb phases order antiferromagnetically. The magnetic susceptibility for Sm orthothioborate approximately follows the Van-Vleck theory for Sm3+. Between 50 K and 62 K a transition appears which is independent of the magnetic field: the magnetic susceptibility becomes lower. This effect might indicate a discontinuous valence transition of Sm which was further investigated by means of XANES and X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation, both at low temperatures. The series of isotypic RE thioborate sulfides with composition RE9B5S21, was obtained by the application of Hp – HT conditions to starting mixtures with the initial chemical composition “REB3S6“, after careful optimization of the pressure, temperature and treatment time, as well as the composition of the starting mixtures. Their crystal structures adopt the Ce6Al3.33S14 [7] structure type (hexagonal, space group P63, Z = 2/3). The special features of the RE9B5S21 crystal structures, concerning boron site occupancies and different coordination environments of the two crystallographically independent boron sites, were investigated in more detail by means of quantum chemical calculations, electron diffraction methods, optical and X-ray absorption spectroscopy as well as by 11B NMR spectroscopy. The results obtained from these different experimental and computational methods are in good mutual agreement. The crystal structures of the RE9B5S21 compounds are characterized by two types of anions: tetrahedral [BS4]5– and trigonal planar [BS3]3– as well as [(S2–)3] units. Isolated [BS4]5– tetrahedra (all pointing with one of their apices along the polar [001] direction) represent a unique feature of the crystal structure which is observed for the first time in a thioborate compound. These tetrahedra are stacked along the three-fold rotation axes. Vacancies are located at the trigonal-planar coordinated boron site with preferred ordering –B–B––B–B–– along [001]. No superstructure is observed by means of electron diffraction methods as adjacent columns are shuffled along the c axis, giving rise to a randomly distributed vacancy pattern. Positions of the sulfur atoms within the [(S2–)3] substructure as well as planarity of the [BS3]3– units were investigated in more detail by means of quantum mechanical calculations. Results of the IR and Raman spectroscopy, as well as of the 11B NMR spectroscopy are in agreement with the presence of the boron atoms in two different coordination environments. Thermal analyses showed that compounds RE9B5S21 are stable under inert conditions up to ~ 1200 K. In accordance with the combined results of experimental and computational investigations, the chemical formula of the RE9B5S21 compounds is consistent with RE3[BS3]2[BS4]3S3. A short overview of investigations towards rare earth selenoborates, where in most of the cases only known binary rare earth selenides could be identified, is presented as well in this work. Investigations in the RE–B–Se systems were conducted by the application of different preparation routes by varying the experimental parameters and the initial compositions of the starting mixtures. Although no crystal structure of a ternary phase in these systems could be solved, there are indications that such phases exist, but further investigations are needed. [1] M. Döch, A. Hammerschmidt, B. Krebs, Z. Anorg. Allg. Chem., 2004, 630, 519. [2] H. Huppertz, Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 131; and references therein. [3] J. Hunger, M. Borna, R. Kniep, J. Solid State Chem., 2010, 182, 702; J. Hunger, M. Borna, R. Kniep, Z. Kristallogr. NCS, 2010, 225, 217; M. Borna, J. Hunger, R. Kniep, Z. Kristallogr. NCS, 2010, 225, 223; M. Borna, J. Hunger, R. Kniep, Z. Kristallogr. NCS, 2010, 225, 225. [4] M. Borna, J. Hunger, A. Ormeci, D. Zahn, U. Burkhardt, W. Carrillo-Cabrera, R. Cardoso-Gil, R. Kniep, J. Solid State Chem., 2011, 184, 296; [5] H. Müller-Bunz, T. Nikelski, Th. Schleid, Z. Naturforsch. B, 2003, 58, 375. [6] H. U. Bambauer, J. Weidelt, J.-St. Ysker, Z. Kristallogr., 1969, 130, 207. [7] D. de Saint-Giniez, P. Laruelle, J. Flahaut, C. R. Séances, Acad. Sci. Ser. C, 1968, 267, 1029.:I INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 7 1. Motivation and scope of the work .............................................. 9 2. Literature overview .................................................................. 11 2.1. The binary subsystems of the ternary systems RE–B–Q (RE = rare earth metals, Y; Q = S, Se) ......................................................... 12 2.1.1. RE–Q ............................................................................... 12 2.1.2. RE–B ............................................................................... 19 2.1.3. B–Q ................................................................................. 22 2.2. Related ternary compounds ................................................... 25 2.2.1. RE oxoborates .................................................................. 25 2.2.2. Thio- and selenoborates of alkaline, alkaline earth, transition and post transition metals ......................................................................... 33 2.2.3. The RE thioborate Eu[B2S4]................................................ 45 II PREPARATIVE METHODS AND EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES .......... 47 1. Starting materials and their characterization ............................... 49 2. Synthetic approaches and optimizations .................................... 51 2.1. High-temperature routes ...................................................... 52 2.2. Metathesis reactions ............................................................ 53 2.3. Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) ............................................... 54 2.4. High-Pressure High-Temperature (Hp – HT) Syntheses ........... 55 3. Analytical methods and samples characterization ....................... 55 3.1. Powder X-ray diffraction ...................................................... 55 3.2. Crystal structure investigations using synchrotron radiation .... 57 3.3. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis .................................. 57 3.4. Metallographic investigations ................................................ 58 3.5. Electron microscopy ............................................................ 58 3.5.1. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy ............................................................................ 58 3.5.2. Transmission electron microscopy ...................................... 59 3.6. Optical spectroscopy ........................................................... 59 3.6.1. Infra-Red spectroscopy .................................................... 59 3.6.2. Raman spectroscopy ........................................................ 60 3.7. X-ray absorption spectroscopy ............................................ 60 3.8. Thermal analysis ................................................................. 62 3.9. Magnetic susceptibility measurements ................................... 63 3.10. 11B NMR spectroscopy ..................................................... 63 3.11. Quantum chemical calculations ........................................... 64 3.11.1. Total energy calculations ................................................ 64 3.11.2. Charge transfer analysis ................................................ 64 3.11.3. Chemical bonding........................................................... 64 III RARE EARTH THIOBORATES ................................................. 67 1. Reinvestigation of the only reported rare earth thioborate – EuB2S4 ....69 2. RE[BS3] (RE = La – Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb) .................................... 69 2.1. Syntheses and phase analyses .......................................... 70 2.2. Crystal structure determinations ........................................ 74 2.3. X-ray absorption spectroscopy: EXAFS data analysis for Pr[BS3] ..... 79 2.4. Crystal chemistry .............................................................. 80 2.5. Optical spectroscopy ......................................................... 83 2.6. Thermal analysis ............................................................... 86 2.7. Magnetic susceptibility ....................................................... 88 2.8. X-ray absorption spectroscopy: XANES data analysis for Sm[BS3] .. 91 2.9. Crystal structure investigation at low temperature using synchrotron radiation ................................................................................... 91 2.10. Summary ......................................................................... 95 3. Gd[BS3] : Ce, Eu, Tb ............................................................. 97 3.1. Syntheses and phase analyses ............................................. 97 3.2. Crystal structure determinations ......................................... 101 3.3. Crystal chemistry .............................................................. 103 3.4. Optical spectroscopy ......................................................... 104 3.5. Thermal analysis ............................................................... 106 3.6. Summary ......................................................................... 107 4. RE9B5S21 (RE = Tb – Lu, Y) ................................................ 107 4.1. Syntheses and phase analyses ........................................... 108 4.2. Crystal structure determinations ........................................ 109 4.3. Crystal chemistry .............................................................. 112 4.4. Electronic structure, charge transfer and chemical bonding .... 115 4.5. X-ray absorption spectroscopy: EXAFS data analysis for Lu9B5S21 .............................................................................. 119 4.6. Thermal analysis ............................................................... 121 4.7. 11B NMR investigations ..................................................... 122 4.8. Optical spectroscopy ......................................................... 123 4.9. Summary ......................................................................... 126 IV ON THE WAY TO RARE EARTH SELENOBORATES .................... 127 1. Towards ternary phases in the systems RE–B–Se, with RE = Sm, Tb – Lu.......................................................................................... 129 2. The system La–B–Se ........................................................... 134 3. The system Gd–B–Se .......................................................... 136 4. The system Y–B–Se ............................................................ 137 5. Summary ........................................................................... 139 V SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK ..................................................... 141 VI APPENDIX .......................................................................... 149 VII REFERENCES .................................................................... 163 VIII LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................. 181 IX LIST OF TABLES ................................................................ 193 X CURRICULUM VITAE ........................................................... 199 XI VERSICHERUNG ............................................................... 203