Formations and electrochemical behavior of mononuclear and binuclear molybdenum dithiolene complexes with nitrosyl ligands: Evidence for the formation of a coordinatively unsaturated species [CpMo(NO)(dithiolene)]

The one-pot reaction of [Cp^∗Mo(NO)(CO)₂] with elemental sulfur and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (C₂Z₂ (Z = COOMe)) gave the [2+2] cycloadduct of the mononuclear molybdenum dithiolene complex [Cp^∗Mo(NO)(S₂C₂Z₂)(C₂Z₂)] (1), and some binuclear complexes:[Cp^∗Mo(NO)(S₂C₂Z₂)]₂ (2), [Cp^∗₂Mo₂(NO)₂S₂(S₂C₂Z₂)] (3) and [Cp^∗Mo(NO)S₂]₂ (4).The reaction of [Cp^∗Mo(NO)(Cl)(μ-Cl)]₂ with OC{S₂C₂(COOMe)₂} in the presence of sodium methoxide also produced complex 2 and the paramagnetic Cp^∗Mo bisdithiolene complex [Cp^∗Mo(S₂C₂Z₂)₂] (5, Z = COOMe).The structures of complexes 1-5 were determined by X-ray crystal structure analysis.The nitrosyl ligands of complexes 1-4 showed a linear coordination to the molybdenum center (the Mo-N-O bond angles = 169-174°), and their N-O bond lengths were 1.17-1.20 Å.In the binuclear complexes 2-4, two nitrosyl ligands were placed at cis-position.Complexes 1 and 2 were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and spectroelectrochemistry (visible and IR). The electrochemical reduction of the dimeric complex 2 formed the monomeric dithiolene complex[Cp^∗Mo(NO)(S₂C₂Z₂)]⁻ (X⁻) whose lifetime was several minutes. When the anion X⁻ was electrochemically oxidized, the coordinatively unsaturated species X was generated, but it was immediately dimerized to afford the original dimeric complex 2. The reduction of the complex 1 included the elimination of the bridged DMAD moiety (C₂Z₂) to give the anion X⁻.