Hexa(''tert''-butoxy)dimolybdenum(III) is a
coordination complex
A coordination complex is a chemical compound consisting of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the ''coordination centre'', and a surrounding array of chemical bond, bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ' ...
of
molybdenum
Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...
(III). It is one of the
homoleptic
In inorganic chemistry, a homoleptic chemical compound is a metal compound with all ligands identical. The term uses the " homo-" prefix to indicate that something is the same for all. Any metal species which has more than one type of ligand is he ...
alkoxide
In chemistry, an alkoxide is the conjugate base of an alcohol and therefore consists of an organic group bonded to a negatively charged oxygen atom. They are written as , where R is the organyl substituent. Alkoxides are strong bases and, whe ...
s of molybdenum. An orange, air-sensitive solid, the complex has attracted academic attention as the precursor to many
organomolybdenum derivatives. It an example of a charge-neutral complex featuring a molybdenum to molybdenum
triple bond
A triple bond in chemistry is a chemical bond between two atoms involving six Electron pair bond, bonding electrons instead of the usual two in a covalent bond, covalent single bond. Triple bonds are stronger than the equivalent covalent bond, sin ...
(Mo≡Mo), arising from the coupling of a pair of d
3 metal centers. It can be prepared by a
salt metathesis reaction
A salt metathesis reaction (also called a double displacement reaction, double replacement reaction, or double decomposition) is a type of chemical reaction in which two ionic compounds in aqueous solution exchange their component ions to form two ...
from the
THF
Tetrahydrofuran (THF), or oxolane, is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)4O. The compound is classified as heterocyclic compound, specifically a cyclic ether. It is a colorless, water-miscible organic liquid with low viscosity. It is ma ...
complex of
molybdenum trichloride and
lithium tert-butoxide:
:2 MoCl
3(thf)
3 + 6 LiOBu-t → Mo
2(OBu-t)
6 + 6 LiCl + 6 thf
The complex and its
ditungsten (W2) analogue adopt an ethane-like geometry. The metal to metal bond distance is 222
pm in the related complex Mo
2(OCH
2CMe
3)
6.
See also
*
Hexa(tert-butoxy)ditungsten(III)
References
{{Molybdenum compounds
Alkoxides
Molybdenum(III) compounds
Tert-butyl compounds