Metal-alkyne complexes molybdenum

The chemistry which has developed for molybdenum(II) and tung-sten(II) alkyne monomers encompasses syntheses, structures, spectra, molecular orbital descriptions, and reactions. The sheer volume of literature reports germane to this seemingly narrow topic is surprising. The Mo(II) and W(II) complexes addressed here are not unique in terms of alkyne 7rx donation. Related alkyne chemistry is appearing for d4 metals other than molybdenum and tungsten, as well as for d2 complexes in general. 

Several reactions of metal-carbene complexes with alkynes leading to five-membered ring compounds have been described. The action of acetylenes on the chromium phenyl(pyrrolidino)carbene complex 472 results in mixtures of indanones 473 and indenes 474297 Terminal alkynes (pent-l-yne or hex-l-yne) react with the molybdenum carbene complex 475 to afford, after oxidative work-up, indanones 476 in contrast, trimethylsilylacetylene gave only the naphthoquinone 477. ... 

Equations 13.10-13.12 show three examples of the synthesis of vinylidene complexes by reactions of metal-acetylide complexes with acid or base. The molybdenum(II) acetylide complex in Equation 13.10 reacts with acid to protonate the p-carbon and generate a cationic vinylidene complex. In this case, the vinylidene complex is thermodynamically unstable. Warming to 0 °C leads to rearrangement of this species to the tautomeric alkyne complex. In contrast, the more electron-rich molybdenum-acetylide complex in Equation 13.11 containing three phosphite donors generates a vinylidene complex upon addition of a proton from alumina to the 3-carbon of the acetylide. The vinylidene form of the complex is apparently more stable than the alkyne complex in this case. 

Another class of transition metal complexes studied by our group consists of alkyne and vinylidene complexes of tungsten and molybdenum in high oxidation states. Alkyne complexes are interesting from a theoretical point of view because they may be considered to be either side-on coordinated ligand complexes or metallacyclopropenes. They are also important as possible intermediates in the cyclooligomerization and polymerization of alkynes. o " Scheme 3 shows the two types of alkyne complex that were studied. 

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