X-ray Crystal Structures of Two (Ethylidyne)tricobalt Clusters: Thermolysis of Cp*Co(H2C=CH2)2 Produces Cp*3Co3(μ3-CCH3)(μ3-H), Not Cp*3Co3(μ3-CCH3)2

The structures of the μ3-ethylidyne tricobalt clusters Cp*3CO3(μ3-CCH3)2 (2) and Cp*3Co3(μ3-CCH3)(μ3-H) (3) were determined by X-ray crystallography. The 48-electron cluster 2 consists of an equilateral triangle of cobalt atoms (Co‒Co = 2.437(1) Å) symmetrically capped on each face by a μ3-CCH3 ligand. Cluster 3 was necessarily disordered by the crystallographic site symmetry (3/m) and was therefore refined by employing a mirror-disordered model (3a) which assigned half-weight to the disordered μ3-CCH3 ligand. The 46-electron cluster 3a consists of an equilateral triangle of cobalt atoms (Co‒Co = 2.378(1) Å) symmetrically capped on a single face by a μ3-CCH3 ligand. © 1994, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

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Author Ross A. Widenhoefer Chemistry