Synthesis and structures of silicon-, germanium-, and tin-containing imido-alkyl molybdenum complexes (ArN)2Mo(CH2EMe3)2 (E = Si, Ge, Sn)

New silicon-, germanium-, and tin-containing imido-alkyl molybdenum complexes (ArN)₂Mo(CH₂EMe₃)₂ (Ar is 2,6-diisopropylphenyl; E = Si (1), Ge (2), Sn (3)) were prepared in the crystalline state in 58–66% yields by the reactions of the (ArN)₂MoCl₂(DME) complex with alkyllithium derivatives Me₃ECH₂Li (E = Si or Ge) or the Grignard reagents Me₃ECH₂MgCl (E = Ge or Sn). The structures of complexes 1–3 and the known analog (ArN)₂Mo(CH₂Bu^t)₂ (4) were established by X-ray diffraction analysis. Complexes 1–3 were found to be isostructural. The coordination environment about the Mo atom can be described as a distorted tetrahedron. Complex 4 has a similar structure. The Mo-C distance tends to decrease with increasing electron donating ability of the EMe₃ group.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 597–600, March, 2005.