The reactions of an ambident lithium molybdenumvinylidene complex with electrophiles; novel formation of a 1,3-diene complex and evidence for intramolecular carbon–hydrogen activation on photolysis of a carbyne complex

Abstract

Reaction of Li[Mo(C·CHBut){P(OMe)3}2(η-C5H5)] with a range of electrophiles affords carbon substituted carbynes, whereas allyl iodide forms the crystallographically identified 1,3-diene complex [Mo(η4-1,3-C4H5CH2But)(I)-{P(OMe)3}(η-C5H5)], and one-electron oxidants give meso and RS-biscarbyne complexes; u.v. irradiation of [MoC·Ch(COBut)BUt{P(OMe)3}2(η-C5H5)] affords an η3-allyl complex identified by X-ray crystallography.