Constrained phosphite ester complexes of π-cyclopentadienylmolybdenum tricarbonyl halides

The synthesis of complexes of the type π-C₅H₅Mo(CO)₂LX and π-C₅H₅Mo(CO)L₂X, where XCl, Br, or I and LP(OCH₂)₃CR (RCH₃, C₂H₅, or C₃H₇), is reported. Infrared and conductance data verified that all compounds existed as covalent species in solution. Each of the three π-C₅H₅Mo(CO)₂LCl complexes was isolated as an inseparable mixture of cis and trans isomeric forms. Only the trans forms of the remaining π-C₅H₅Mo(CO)₂LX complexes were observed in solution, as indicated by infrared and PMR spectra. All of the π-C₅H₅Mo(CO)L₂X compounds apparently exist in primarily one isomeric form in solution; their PMR spectra, which exhibited a sharp triplet resonance for the ?OCH₂? protons of the phosphite ligands and a single sharp π-C₅H₅ proton signal, indicated a predominantly trans arrangement of the phosphite ligands at room temperature.