Photochemical synthesis and structural characterization of (η⁵-C₅Me₅)₃Mo₃(CO)₄(μ₂-H)(μ₃-O): an unprecedented 46-electron trimolybdenum cluster containing a localized monoprotonated MoMo double bond

Irradiation of the 30-electron Mo₂(η⁵-C₅Me₅)₂(CO)₄ and Re₂(CO)₁₀ in toluene solution (containing H₂O) afforded (in 1-2% yields) a novel triangular metal cluster, (η⁵-C₅Me₅)₃Mo₃(CO)₄(η₂-H)(η₃-O) (1), which was characterized by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. Compound 1, of pseudo C_s-m symmetry, has a triangulo-Mo₃(η₃-O) core with composite MoHMo and MoMo electron-pair bonds along one unusually short edge (2.660(1) Å) and Mo electron-pair bonds along the other two edges (2.916(1) and 2.917(1) Å). The edge-bridged hydride ligand, which displays a characteristic high-field proton NMR resonance at δ -17.79 ppm, was not found from the crystallographic determination but was located via a quantitative potential-energy-minimization method. This procedure unambiguously established that the optimized hydrogen position, which corresponds to a distinct coordination site with identical MoH distances of 1.85 Å, is the only one that can be sterically occupied by a metal-bound hydride ligand. This 46-electron species is the first electron-deficient trimolybdenum cluster containing a monoprotonated MoMo double bond; its existence is attributed to ligand overcrowding due to the bulky pentamethylcyclopentadienyl rings. Black (η⁵- C₅Me₅)₃Mo₃(CO)₄(η₂-H)(η₃-O) · 1/2THF crystallizes with two formula species in a triclinic unit cell of P1 symmetry with a 8.603(4), b 11.115(4), c 19.412(11) Å, α 80.69(4)°, β 101.10(4)°, and γ 98.88(3)° at -40° C. Least-squares refinement (RAELS with 221 variables) of one independent Mo₃ molecule and a centrosymmetrically-disordered THF molecule converged at R₁(F) 5.62%, R₂(F 6.88% for 8460 independent diffractometry data (I₀ ρ 3σ(I₀ collected at -40° C with Mo-K_α radiation.