Synthesis, structural characterisation and nuclear magnetic resonance study of [Ru6C(CO)15(µ3-η1:η2:η2-C16H16-µ-O)]: an intermediate in the formation of [Ru6C(CO)14(µ3-η2:η2:η2-C16H16)]

Abstract

The complex [Ru₆C(CO)₁₅(µ₃-η¹:η²:η²-C₁₆H₁₆-µ-O)] has been isolated and fully characterised in solution by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and in the solid state by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. On heating it undergoes quantitative conversion to the carbido cluster, [Ru₆C(CO)₁₄(µ₃-η²:η²:η²-C₁₆H₁₆)], with the expulsion of CO₂, and on this basis may be considered as a key intermediate in the formation of the carbido cluster. This complex is a rare example of a molecular system containing both the carbido and oxo ligand, possibly derived from the cleavage of a carbonyl group, which are trapped within a metal-cluster framework. The isolation of this new cluster may be taken to indicate that the initial attack by a co-ordinated carbonyl group appears to take place on the co-ordinated organo moiety, thereby providing evidence for an intramolecular mechanism.