Communications
considerably weaker p-acceptor ligand than the silylidyne
1
ligand in 3. The H and 13C{1H} NMR spectra reveal a Cs
symmetric structure of the silylidene complex in solution, and
that rotation of the m-terphenyl substituent about the Si–CAr
bond is fast on the NMR timescale at room temperature. The
most distinctive signal in the 13C{1H} NMR spectrum of 2 is
that of the silicon-bonded Ccarbene atom (d = 165.3 ppm),
which appears considerably upfield to that of Im-Me4 (d =
212.7 ppm),[20] but at similar position to that of 1 (d =
166.7 ppm).[10] The 29Si{1H} NMR spectrum of 2 has a
characteristic downfield-shifted signal at d = 201.8 ppm,
which compares well with those of the molybdenum arylsi-
lylidene complexes [(h5-C5Me5)(dmpe)Mo(H){Si(R)Ar}]
(R = H, Cl, Me; Ar= Ph, Mes; d = 182–250 ppm).[5b,15a] All
the spectroscopic data and bonding parameters suggest that 2
is a new type of silylidene complex, which is best described by
the zwitterionic structure depicted in Scheme 1.
The bond dissociation enthalpy Do(0) and Gibbs free
Figure 2. DIAMOND plot of the molecular structure of the silylidyne
complex 3. Thermal ellipsoids are set at 50% probability, and hydrogen
atoms are omitted for clarity. Selected bond lengths [ꢀ] and angles [8]:
Mo–Si 2.2241(7), Mo–C37 1.968(3), Mo–C38 1.973(3), Si–C1 1.859(2);
Mo-Si-C1 173.49(8), Si-Mo-C37 90.56(7), Si-Mo-C38 89.63(8), C37-Mo-
C38 87.0(1).
o
À
dissociation energy DGD (298) required to cleave the Si
Ccarbene bond of 2 was calculated to be 62.1 and 1.2 kJmolÀ1,
respectively.[21,22] Both values are smaller than the respective
values
of
1
(Do(0) = 94.3 kJmolÀ1,
DGDo(298) =
28.1 kJmolÀ1),[10] which suggests that dissociation of the N-
heterocyclic carbene Im-Me4 from 2 might occur to some
extent at elevated temperatures and in the presence of a
suitable carbene trapping agent may lead to the silylidyne
complex 3. Indeed, reaction of 2 with one equivalent of the
triarylborane B(C6H4-4-Me)3 in refluxing o-xylene afforded
selectively the silylidyne complex 3 and the carbene–borane
adduct Im-Me4·B(C6H4-4-Me)3 (4-Me; Scheme 1).[12] Com-
plex 3 was easily separated from the adduct 4-Me upon
fractional crystallization from pentane and was isolated as a
brick-red, air-sensitive solid in 53% yield.
ligands. Further evidence for the stronger metal–carbonyl
À
back-bonding in [Cp(CO)2Mo ꢀ E C6H3-2,6-Trip2] (E = Si,
Ge) is provided by the downfield-shifted 13C NMR signal of
the carbonyl ligands (E = Si (3): d = 231.1 ppm, E = Ge: d =
231.4 ppm[7b]) than that of [Cp(CO)2Mo ꢀ C C6H3-2,6-Me2]
À
(d = 228.7 ppm).[25]
The thermochemical parameters for the carbene transfer
reaction of 2 with the borane B(C6H4-4-Me)3 to give 3 and 4-
Me were computed.[21,22] Formation of the silylidyne complex
3 is an exergonic process (DGR8(298) = À39.0 kJmolÀ1),
which is favored by both the reaction enthalpy
(DHR8(298) = À21.8 kJmolÀ1) and the reaction entropy
(DSR8(298) = 57.7 JmolÀ1 KÀ1). The negative reaction
enthalpy results from the higher bond dissociation enthalpy
Do(0) of the carbene–borane adduct 4-Me (88.4 kJmolÀ1)
than that of 2 (62.1 kJmolÀ1) and suggests that triarylboranes,
such as B(C6H4-4-Me)3, should be useful N-heterocyclic
carbene abstracting agents owing to the formation of a
The molecular structure of 3 was determined by single-
crystal X-ray diffraction (Figure 2).[13] The almost Cs-sym-
metric three-legged piano-stool complex[23] is isostructural
À
with the germanium analogue [Cp(CO)2Mo ꢀ Ge C6H3-2,6-
Trip2].[7b] It features an almost linearly coordinated silicon
À
center (Mo-Si-CAr = 173.49(8)8) and a very short Mo Si bond
À
(2.2241(7) ꢀ), which is 12 pm shorter than the Mo Si double
À
bond of 2. The Mo Si bond length of 3 compares well with the
calculated Mo Si bond lengths of the hypothetical silylidyne
À
ꢀ À
complexes [Cp(CO)2Mo Si R] (R = H: 2.213 ꢀ, R = Me:
5
2.229 ꢀ)[24] and the Mo Si bond length of [(h -C5Me5)-
rather strong B Ccarbene bond.
À
À
(dmpe)(H)MoSiMes][B(C6F5)4] (2.219(2) ꢀ).[5b]
The isolation of the silylidyne complex 3 shows the
potential of the carbene adduct 1 as a source for the
generation of unprecedented compounds featuring silicon
multiple bonds. Studies are currently in progress to explore
this potential and the chemistry of the silylidyne complex 3.
The IR and NMR spectra support the structure of
complex 3. The 29Si{1H} NMR spectrum of 3 has a distinctive
signal that is considerably downfield (at d = 320.1 ppm) to
that of 2 (d = 201.8 ppm). The IR spectrum of 3 in toluene has
two n(CO) bands (1937 and 1875 cmÀ1) that appear at almost
the same position as those of the germylidyne complex
[Cp(CO)2Mo ꢀ Ge-C6H3-2,6-Mes2] (1930 and 1875 cmÀ1 in
nujol),[7a] but at considerably lower wavenumbers than those
Received: February 10, 2010
Keywords: molybdenum · silicon · silylidene complexes ·
.
silylidyne complexes · triple bonds
ꢀ À
of the alkylidyne complex [Cp(CO)2Mo C C6H3-2,6-Me2]
(1992 and 1919 cmÀ1 in CH2Cl2).[25] This result indicates that
metal–carbonyl back-bonding is stronger in the complexes
À
[Cp(CO)2Mo ꢀ E R] (E = Si, Ge). It also suggests that
[1] E. O. Fischer, Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1973 (http://
nobelprize.org/chemistry/laureates/1973/fischer-lecture.pdf; see
silylidyne and germylidyne ligands have a similar s-donor/p-
acceptor ratio, which is however larger than that of alkylidyne
3298
ꢀ 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 3296 –3300