New Iron–Mercury Clusters: [Hg7{Fe(CO)4}5(StBu)3Cl], [Hg14Fe12{Fe(CO)4}6S6(StBu)8Br18], and [Hg39Fe8{Fe(CO)4}18S8(StBu)14Br28]

Three new chalcogen-bridged mercury–iron clusters with 7, 14, and 39 mercury centers were obtained from the reaction of tBuSSiMe₃ with [Fe(CO)₄(HgX)₂] (X= Cl, Br). The compounds were isolated in the form of orange crystals that were characterized by X-ray crystallography. The picture on the right shows the structure of the heavy-atom skeleton of [Hg₁₄Fe₁₂{Fe(CO)₄}₆S₆(StBu)₈Br₁₈] (Hg, Fe, Br, and S are black, diagonally striped, white, and horizontally striped, respectively).     

Ag[Fe(CO)5]2+: A Bare Silver Complex with Fe(CO)5 as a Ligand

Attempts to prepare Fe(CO)₅⁺ from Ag[Al(OR^F)₄] (R^F=C(CF₃)₃) and Fe(CO)₅ in CH₂Cl₂ yielded the first complex of a neutral metal carbonyl bound to a simple metal cation. The Ag[Fe(CO)₅]₂⁺ cation consists of two Fe(CO)₅ molecules coordinating Ag⁺ in an almost linear fashion. The ν(CO) modes are blue‐shifted compared to Fe(CO)₅, with one band above 2143 cm^?1 indicating that back‐bonding is heavily decreased in the Ag[Fe(CO)₅]₂⁺ cation.     

Synthese,Strukturuntersuchung und Reaktionen Phosphansubstituierter Derivate von Fe3(CO)9(μ3-CF)2

Syntheses, Structure Determination and Reactions of Phosphine Substituted Derivatives of Fe₃(CO)₉(μ₃-CF)₂ Photolysis of Fe₃(CO)₉(μ₃-CF)₂ 1 in the presence of acetonitrile 2a or benzoenitrile 2b results in the substitution of a single carbonyl ligand by a nitrile ligand yielding Fe₃(CO)₈(CH₃CN)(μ₃-CF)₂ 3a and Fe₃(CO)₈(C₆H₅CN)(μ₃-CF)₂ 3b, respectively. The acetonitrile ligand in 3a can be easily replaced by trimethyl-phosphine 4a or triphenylphosphine 4b . The monosubstituted compounds Fe₃(CO)₈(PR₃)(μ₃-CF)₂5, R = CH₃ a, R = C₆H₅, b are obtained as major products besides a small amount of the disubsituted products Fe₃(CO)₇(PR₃)₂(μ₃-CF)₂ 6. The structure of 5a has been elucidated by a single crystal X-ray structure determination. Thermal ligand substitution in 1, however, results in the formation of a mixture of mono-, disubstituted, and trisubstituted products, in which 6b is the major product for diphenylphosphine. 5a reacts with ethyne 7 forming a phosphine substituted diferra-allyl-cluster Fe₃(CO)₇(PR₃)(μ₃-CF)(μ₃? CF? CH? CH) 8. The structure of one isomere of 8 has been determinated by X-ray crystallography.     

[SnI8{Fe(CO)4}4]2+: Highly Coordinated Sn+III8 Subunit with Fragile Carbonyl Clips

[SnI₈{Fe(CO)₄}₄][Al₂Cl₇]₂ contains the [SnI₈{Fe(CO)₄}₄]²⁺ cation with an unprecedented highly coordinated, bicapped SnI₈ prism. Given the eightfold coordination with the most voluminous stable halide, it is all the more surprising that this SnI₈ arrangement is surrounded only by fragile Fe(CO)₄ groups in a clip‐like fashion. Inspite of a predominantly ionic bonding situation in [SnI₈{Fe(CO)₄}₄]²⁺, the I^????I^? distances are considerably shortened (down to 371 pm) and significantly less than the van der Waals distance (420 pm). The title compound is characterized by single‐crystal structure analysis, spectroscopic methods (EDXS, FTIR, Raman, UV/Vis, Mössbauer), thermogravimetry, and density functional theory methods.     

Hydrierung aromatischer Nitrile auf dem Fe3(CO)9-Cluster

Hydrogenation of Aromatic Nitriles on the Fe₃(CO)₉ Cluster The μ₃-nitrile bridged clusters Fe₃(CO)₉(μ₃-η²-N≡CR) ( 3 , R = phenyl, p-tolyl, p-anisyl) consume hydrogen upon heating in solution with formation of the acimidoyl- and the alkylideneimido-bridged clusters HFe₃(CO)₉(μ₃-η²-HN=CR) ( 1 ) and HFe₃(CO)₉(μ₃-η²-N=CHR) ( 2 ). These can be obtained in a better way by successive H⁺ and H^– addition with NaBH₄ and H₃PO₄. HFe₃(CO)₉(μ₃-η²-N=CHR) ( 2 ) adds P(OMe)₃ with concomitant hydrogen migration to form Fe₃(CO)₉P(OMe)₃(μ₃-η¹-N–CH₂R) ( 6 ). The phosphite-substituted cluster Fe₃(CO)₈P(OMe)₃(μ₃-η²-N≡CPh) ( 5 a ) on the other hand is converted by the H⁺/H^– addition to the products HFe₃(CO)₈P(OMe)₃(μ₃-η²-HN=CPh) ( 7 a ) and HFe₃(CO)₈P(OMe)₃(μ₃-η²-N=CHPh) ( 8 a ).     

Synthese und Struktur von [Fe6(CO)12(TePh)12]

Synthesis and Structure of [Fe₆(CO)₁₂(TePh)₁₂] The reaction of [Fe(CO)₄(HgCl)₂] with PhTeSiMe₃ leads to the formation of red needles. [Fe₆(CO)₁₂(TePh)₁₂] was characterised by single crystal x‐ray structure analysis. In this compound each iron atom is coordinated octahedrally by four μ₂‐TePh groups and two terminal CO groups. The iron atoms form a six membered planar ring.     

On the Reaction of [(CO)3Fe(μ‐Me2NCO)2Fe(CO)2(NHMe2)] with Chelating Ligands — X‐Ray Structures of New Binuclear μ‐Carbamoyl Complexes

Reaction of the binuclear μ‐carbamoyl complex [(CO)₃Fe(μ‐Me₂NCO)₂Fe(CO)₂(HNMe₂)] ( 1 ) in toluene with the chelating ligands Ph₂PCH₂PPh₂ (dppm) and Ph₂PCH₂CH₂PPh₂ (dppe) gives different results. With dppm only the complex [(CO)₃Fe(μ‐Me₂NCO)₂Fe(CO)₂(dppm)] ( 3 ) with a dangling ligand is obtained under replacement of amine, whereas with dppe depending on the reaction conditions up to three compounds are found. A 1 : 1 mixture of the educts generates the related complex [(CO)₃Fe(μ‐Me₂NCO)₂Fe(CO)₂(dppe)] ( 4 ) together with the tetranuclear complex [{(CO)₃Fe(μ‐Me₂NCO)₂Fe(CO)₂}₂(dppe)] (5 ). 4 slowly converts into [(CO)₃Fe(μ‐Me₂NCO)₂Fe(CO)(dppe)] ( 6 ) with dppe acting as a chelating ligand. 6 is the first compound in this series in which one of the five CO groups is replaced by another donor. A 2 : 1 molar ratio of 1 and dppe quantitatively produces 5 . Addition of CO to a solution of 6 proceeds under slow reversible conversion of the complex into 4 . The compounds were characterized by the usual spectroscopic methods; 3 , 5 and 6 were also studied by X‐ray diffraction analyses.     

Functionalised Tris(pyrazolyl)methane Ligands and Re(CO)3 Complexes Thereof

The synthesis of new tripodal nitrogen ligands derived from tris(pyrazolyl)methane (Tpm^R, R = H, tBu, Ph in 3‐position) is described. After deprotonation of the parent tris(pyrazolyl)methane Tpm^R, the carbanion reacts readily with ethylene oxide to yield the 3,3,3‐tris(3′‐substituted pyrazolyl)propanol ligands[(3‐Rpz)₃CCH₂CH₂OH, R = H, tBu, Ph, 1a – c ]. These ligands can be easily derivatised at the alcohol function. Microwave‐assisted reactions of these ligands and [Re(CO)₅Br] yields the complex [( 1a )Re(CO)₃]Br ( 4 ) in the case of ligand 1a , whereas in the case of the substituted ligands 1b and 1c degradation was observed. The degradation products are identified as [(Hpz^R)₂Re(CO)₃Br] [R = tBu ( 7b ), Ph ( 7c )]. These complexes were also prepared directly from [Re(CO)₅Br] and the corresponding pyrazoles by microwave‐assisted synthesis. The Re(CO)₃ complexes 4 and [( 1a )Re(CO)₃]OTf ( 5 ) are water‐soluble. The structures of 5· H₂O and [{(pz)₃CCH₂CH₃}Re(CO)₃]OTf · 1.5H₂O · ¹/₂CH₃CN ( 6· 1.5H₂O · ¹/₂CH₃CN) as well as the structure of 7b have been elucidated by X‐ray crystallography.     

Electrochemical insights into the mechanisms of proton reduction by [Fe2(CO)6{micro-SCH2N(R)CH2S}] complexes related to the [2Fe](H) subsite of [FeFe]hydrogenase

Electrochemical investigations on a structural analogue of the [2Fe](H) subsite of [FeFe]H(2)ases, namely, [Fe(2)(CO)(6){micro-SCH(2)N(CH(2)CH(2)- OCH(3))CH(2)S}] (1), were conducted in MeCN/NBu(4)PF(6) in the presence of HBF(4)/Et(2)O or HOTs. Two different catalytic proton reduction processes operate, depending on the strength and the concentration of the acid used. The first process, which takes place around -1.2 V for both HBF(4)/Et(2)O and HOTs, is limited by the slow release of H(2) from the product of the {2 H(+)/2 e} pathway, 1-2H. The second catalytic process, which occurs at higher acid concentrations, takes place at different potentials depending on the acid present. We propose that this second mechanism is initiated by protonation of 1-2H when HBF(4)/Et(2)O is used, whereas the reduction of 1-2H is the initial step in the presence of the weaker acid HOTs. The potential of the second process, which occurs around -1.4 V (reduction potential of 1-3H(+)) or around -1.6 V (the reduction potential of 1-2H) is thus dependent on the strength of the available proton source.     

The Flipping of CO Ligand Groups in Metal Carbonyl Compounds and its Frequency in Fe(CO)5

It has been proven qualitatively by a number of authors using variable temperature NMR experiments that most metal carbonyl complexes are nonrigid. A quantitative determination of the ligand exchange frequency v_e is often achieved by a line shape analysis or by measurement of the transverse relaxation time T₂ using the Carr-Purcell method. In the case of a “very fast” exchange, however, both methods prove unsuccessful. It is shown in this study that a simultaneous fit of IR or Raman spectra on the one hand and NMR spectra on the other can make possible the determination of v_e for the “very fast” exchange and can also facilitate the determination of v_e in “slow” and “medium” exchange cases considerably. The ligand exchange frequency thus found for Fe(CO)₅, 1.1 × 10¹⁰s^?1, is unexpectedly high; comparison with variable temperature measurements on solid Fe(CO)₅, yields similar energy barriers. A mechanism of exchange closely related to the “Berry mechanism” is proposed. Finally the consequences of this surprisingly large ligand exchange rate are discussed with respect to IR band assignments for molecular “fragments” M(CO)^x (where x=coordination number, and M is a transition metal, typically lanthanoid or actinoid).     

Cobalt(II) and Cobalt(III) Tri‐tert‐butoxysilanethiolates. Synthesis,Properties, Crystal and Molecular Structures of [Co{μ‐SSi(OBut)3}{SSi(OBut)3}(NH3)]2 and [Co{SSi(OBut)3}2(NH3)4][SSi(OBut)3] Complexes

The heteroleptic neutral tri‐tert‐butoxysilanethiolate of cobalt(II) incorporating ammonia as additional ligand ( 1 ) has been prepared by the reaction of a cobalt(II) ammine complex with tri‐tert‐butoxysilanethiol in water. Complex 1 , dissolved in hexane, undergoes oxidation in an ammonia saturated atmosphere to the ionic cobalt(III) compound 2 . Molecular and crystal structures of 1 and 2 have been determined by single crystal X‐ray structural analysis. 1 forms a dimeric molecule [Co{μ‐SSi(OBu^t)₃}{SSi(OBu^t)₃}(NH₃)]₂ with a folded central Co₂S₂ ring and distorted tetrahedral ligand arrangement at both Co^II atoms (CoNS₃ core). The product 2 is composed of the octahedral Co^III complex cation [Co{SSi(OBu^t)₃}₂(NH₃)₄]⁺ and the tri‐tert‐butoxysilanethiolate anion. Within the crystal two pairs of ions interact by hydrogen bonds forming well separated entities. 1 and 2 are the first structurally characterized cobalt thiolates where metal is also bonded to ammonia and 2 is the first cobalt(III) silanethiolate.