Bis(alkylidynyl)tellurides and ditellurides

Area of Science:

• Organometallic Chemistry
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Coordination Chemistry

Background:

• Tellurocarbonylate complexes are rare in organometallic chemistry.
• The synthesis and reactivity of metal-carbon-tellurium bonds are underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel tellurocarbonylate complexes of molybdenum (Mo) and tungsten (W).
• To investigate the reactivity of these complexes, particularly in forming new bridging ligands.
• To characterize the resulting bis(alkylidynyl)tellurides and ditellurides.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of tellurocarbonylates [M(CTe)(CO)2(Tp*)]- from precursor complexes.
• Reaction of tellurocarbonylates with [M(CBr)(CO)2(Tp*)] to form bis(alkylidynyl)tellurides.
• Oxidation of tellurocarbonylates using [Fe(η-C5H5)2]PF6 to yield ditellurides.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of tellurocarbonylates [M(CTe)(CO)2(Tp*)]- for M = Mo, W.
• Formation of unprecedented M-CTe-C-M and M-CTe2-C-M bridging ligands in bis(alkylidynyl)tellurides and ditellurides, respectively.
• Characterization of these novel complexes and comparison with known alkylidynyltelluroethers.

Conclusions:

• The study introduces novel tellurocarbonylate complexes and their unique reactivity.
• The formation of unprecedented M-CTe-C-M and M-CTe2-C-M bridges represents a significant advancement in bridging ligand chemistry.
• These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of metal-tellurium bonding and reactivity.