Well-defined silica-supported molybdenum nitride species: silica grafting triggers alkyne metathesis activity

Abstract

The grafting of [Mo(N)(NR2)(OR)2(pyr)] (R = SiMe3, pyr = pyridine) onto highly dehydroxylated silica proceeds to the formation of well-defined silica-supported species. Whereas the molecular precursor is inactive towards alkyne metathesis, its immobilized counterpart displays high activity, which can be significantly enhanced by the addition of 2 equivalents of B(C6F5)3.