The reactions of an ambident lithium molybdenumvinylidene complex with electrophiles; novel formation of a 1,3-diene complex and evidence for intramolecular carbon–hydrogen activation on photolysis of a carbyne complex

Abstract

Reaction of Li[Mo(C·CHBu^t){P(OMe)₃}₂(η-C₅H₅)] with a range of electrophiles affords carbon substituted carbynes, whereas allyl iodide forms the crystallographically identified 1,3-diene complex [Mo(η⁴-1,3-C₄H₅CH₂Bu^t)(I)-{P(OMe)₃}(η-C₅H₅)], and one-electron oxidants give meso and RS-biscarbyne complexes; u.v. irradiation of [MoC·Ch(COBu^t)BU^t{P(OMe)₃}₂(η-C₅H₅)] affords an η³-allyl complex identified by X-ray crystallography.