Mechanism of Lewis base induced disproportionation of vanadium hexacarbonyl
Abstract
Vanadium hexacarbonyl undergoes disproportionation in the presence of several bases (L)(pyridine, tetrahydrofuran, diethyl ether, and acetonitrile) according to a second order rate law k[V(CO)6][L]; Fourier transform i.r. spectroscopic analysis of the reaction for L = pyridine reveals the presence of an isocarbonyl intermediate [(OC)6VCOV(L)4OCV(CO)5]en route to the ultimate product [V(L)6][V(CO)6]2.