Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Biochemical Reconstitution of Steroid Receptor•Hsp90 Protein Complexes and Reactivation of Ligand Binding
Published on: September 21, 2011
A reactive coordinatively saturated Mo(iii) complex: exploiting the hemi-lability of tris(tert-butoxy)silanolate
Margherita Pucino1, Florian Allouche1, Christopher P Gordon1
1Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences , ETH Zurich , Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2 , 8093 Zurich , Switzerland . Email: ccoperet@ethz.ch ;
Abstract:
Coordinatively unsaturated Mo(iii) complexes have been identified as highly reactive species able to activate dinitrogen without the need for a sacrificial reducing agent. Here, we report a coordinatively saturated octahedral Mo(iii) complex stabilized by κ2-tris(tert-butoxy)silanolate ligands, which is yet highly reactive towards dinitrogen and small molecules. The combined high stability and activity are ascribed to the dual binding mode of the tris(tert-butoxy)silanolate ligands that allow unlocking a coordination site in the presence of reactive small molecules to promote their activation at low temperatures.
Related Concept Videos
Coordination Number and Geometry
Coordination Compounds and Nomenclature
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
Solution Equilibrium and Saturation
Ligand Binding Sites
Protein-ligand interactions are quite specific; even though numerous potential ligands surround a cellular protein at any given time, only a particular ligand can bind to that protein. Moreover, a ligand binds only to a dedicated area on the surface of the protein, known as the...

