The effect of divergent-bite ligands on metal-metal bond distances in some paddlewheel complexes

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0020-1693(99)00537-X

In a paddlewheel type bimetal unit, the most frequent arrangement of the bridging ligands has a conformation such that the two donor orbitals are directed along approximately parallel lines. However, when a ligand has one of the two donor atoms derived from a six-membered ring and the other from a fused five-membered ring, the two donor orbitals will be directed divergently. Such divergent-bite ligands might be expected to elongate the M-M bonds. A Cr-Cr core supported by a set of four divergent-bite ligands, Cr₂(CHIP)₄, where CHIP is the anion of 1',3'-dihydrospiro[cyclohexane-1,2'.[2H]imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine], has been synthesized and crystallographically characterized. It has a Cr-Cr distance of 2.016(1) ?, which is much longer than those in paddlewheel complexes with non-divergent dinitrogen ligands. This is the first example of a dichromium complex supported by a set of four divergent-bite ligands and no axial coordination. An analogous complex, namely Mo₂(azin)₄, where azin represents the anion of 7-azaindole, has also been characterized. Together with W₂(azin)₄, which was previously reported, the first series of quadruple bonds wrapped in a sheath of four divergent-bite ligands has been obtained. A comparison of the M-M bond lengths with those in a homologous series having a more flexible ligand, DTolF, which is the anion of di-p-tolylformamidine, reveals that the Cr-Cr quadruple bonds are much more sensitive to the effect of the bridging ligand geometry than are Mo-Mo and W-W quadruple bonds; this is very similar to the trend in susceptibility of quadruple bonds towards axial coordination. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A.

Full text of DOI:10.1016/S0020-1693(99)00537-X

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Inorganica Chimica Acta 300–302 (2000) 319–327
The effect of divergent-bite ligands on metal–metal bond distances
in some paddlewheel complexes
F. Albert Cotton a,*1, Lee M. Daniels a, Carlos A. Murillo a,b,*2, Hong-Cai Zhou a
a The Laboratory for Molecular Structure and Bonding, Department of Chemistry, PO Box 30012, Texas A&M Uni6ersity,
College Station, TX 77842-3012, USA
b Escuela de Qu´ımica, Uni6ersidad de Costa Rica, Ciudad Uni6ersitaria, Costa Rica
Received 9 September 1999; accepted 22 October 1999
Abstract
In a paddlewheel type bimetal unit, the most frequent arrangement of the bridging ligands has a conformation such that the
two donor orbitals are directed along approximately parallel lines. However, when a ligand has one of the two donor atoms
derived from a six-membered ring and the other from a fused five-membered ring, the two donor orbitals will be directed
divergently. Such divergent-bite ligands might be expected to elongate the MꢀM bonds. A CrꢀCr core supported by a set of four
divergent-bite ligands, Cr2(CHIP)4, where CHIP is the anion of 1%,3%-dihydrospiro[cyclohexane-1,2%-[2H]imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine],
,
has been synthesized and crystallographically characterized. It has a CrꢀCr distance of 2.016(1) A, which is much longer than
those in paddlewheel complexes with non-divergent dinitrogen ligands. This is the first example of a dichromium complex
supported by a set of four divergent-bite ligands and no axial coordination. An analogous complex, namely Mo2(azin)4, where
azin represents the anion of 7-azaindole, has also been characterized. Together with W2(azin)4, which was previously reported, the
first series of quadruple bonds wrapped in a sheath of four divergent-bite ligands has been obtained. A comparison of the MꢀM
bond lengths with those in a homologous series having a more flexible ligand, DTolF, which is the anion of di-p-tolylformamidine,
reveals that the CrꢀCr quadruple bonds are much more sensitive to the effect of the bridging ligand geometry than are MoꢀMo
and WꢀW quadruple bonds; this is very similar to the trend in susceptibility of quadruple bonds towards axial coordination.
© 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Crystal structures; Chromium complexes; Metal–metal bonds
1. Introduction
In some cases a paddlewheel complex may have a
helical twist about the MꢀM axis. Strictly speaking, the
The term paddlewheel complex [1,2] is applied to a
paddlewheel analogy is then compromised. Imagine
complex of the type I (see Scheme 1), where only the
essential features are shown. A central pair of metal
trying to steer a Mississippi steamboat propelled by a
helical paddlewheel! Nevertheless, we also call the
atoms, bonded, sometimes strongly, to each other, is
twisted ones paddlewheel complexes.
surrounded by four bridging bidentate ligands of the
type minimally represented by IIa (see Scheme 2),
where X and Y are donor atoms. Most often, but not
necessarily, there is a negative charge present. Common
and representative examples of IIa are IIb and IIc, a
carboxylate ion and an amidate ion, respectively.
1 *Corresponding author. E-mail: cotton@tamu.edu
2 *Corresponding author. E-mail: murillo@tamu.edu
Scheme 1.
0020-1693/00/$ - see front matter © 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 2 0 - 1 6 9 3 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 5 3 7 - X

320
F.A. Cotton et al. / Inorganica Chimica Acta 300–302 (2000) 319–327
Scheme 2.
Of more importance is the fact the ligands making up
the paddlewheel blades may be more elaborate than
those shown as IIa–IIc. Typical examples of more
elaborate ones are IId–IIh. Two important features of
paddlewheel ligands, especially the more elaborate
ones, are (a) the distance between the two donor atoms,
and (b) the preferred angle between the directions of
their lone pair orbitals. In most cases, the distances do
not vary much.
With regard to the second point, there are obviously
three possibilities. Convergent, parallel, and divergent.
Moreover, depending on its structure and rigidity, a
ligand may be constrained to only one of these
categories or it may be compliant, that is, able to
adjust, within limits, to the distance preferred by
the dimetal unit. An example of a ligand constrained to
be parallel is IIe. In the case of IIf, there is a tendency
to be convergent, though this is not rigidly required
because of flexibility in the conformations of the
saturated rings. In a ligand where a rigid six-membered
ring is fused to a five-membered ring, such as IIg, IIh
and IIi, divergence is constrained, as shown more ex-
plicitly in Scheme 3. In IIi, where divergence is favored,
there may be a little more flexibility than for IIg and
IIh.
Scheme 3.
The question we set out to address in this work was
the following one: What effect does the fact that a
ligand is constrained (IIg, IIh) or at least predisposed
(IIi) to divergence have on the MꢀM bond length?
We have employed three specific examples of type IIg,
IIh and IIi ligands, namely those shown in Scheme 4.
This is the first time that the a-carboline anion [3]3,
Scheme 4.

F.A. Cotton et al. / Inorganica Chimica Acta 300–302 (2000) 319–327
321
represented by carb, and the ligand designated as CHIP
have been reported in the literature to form paddle-
wheel complexes. The anion of 7-azaindole, azin, has
been employed previously [4,5]; the instances most rele-
vant to the present work are W2(azin)4 [5a] and
Cr2(azin)4(DMF)2 [5c] (DMF is dimethyl formamide).
Other complexes with divergent-bite ligands such as
oxindolate [6] and saccharinate [7] are also known.
689.1 (w), 631.4 (w), 585.5 (w), 542.4 (m), 469.9 (w),
445.9 (w).
2.1.2. Preparation of Li(acetone)3-
(v-Cl)Cr2(carb)4·acetone (2)
This was prepared in a similar way to 1. The orange
solid collected by filtration was extracted with CH2Cl2
(20 ml); the dark-red solution obtained was then taken
to dryness under vacuum and the solid was redissolved
in acetone. The dark-red solution was then layered with
hexanes; long red prisms of 2 were obtained in a week.
Yield: 0.18 g (25%). IR (KBr pellet, cm−1): 1624.7 (m),
1596.0 (s), 1560.1 (m), 1497.2 (w), 1444.8 (s), 1413.3
(vs), 1363.2 (w), 1318.1 (w), 1275.0 (s), 1226.2 (s),
1220.6 (m), 1152.6 (w), 1108.2 (m), 1010.0 (m), 958.9
(w), 927.3 (m), 855.9 (w), 802.2 (m), 768.1 (s), 739.2
(m), 689.9 (w), 583.3 (w), 542.3 (m), 447.6 (w).
2. Experimental
2.1. General considerations
All syntheses and sample manipulations were carried
out under an atmosphere of nitrogen with standard
Schlenk and glove box techniques. The compound a-
carboline (Hcarb) was prepared according to a litera-
ture method [8]. The compounds 7-azaindole (Hazin)
2.1.3. Preparation of Cr2(CHIP)4 (3), and 3·5C6H6
The compound H(CHIP) (0.76 g, 4.0 mmol) was
dispersed in THF (20 ml), and deprotonated at −78°C
by addition of 2.5 ml (4.0 mmol) of 1.6 M butyllithium
in hexanes. Anhydrous CrCl2 (0.30 g, 2.4 mmol) was
then added via a solids addition tube. The dark-red
suspension was then stirred for 12 h, and taken to
dryness under vacuum. The orange–red solid obtained
was then extracted with hot benzene (2×35 ml). The
volume of the solution was reduced to ca. 30 ml; a clear
red solution was obtained by filtration through Celite
into a Schlenk tube, and layered with diethyl ether. Red
block-shaped crystals of 3 grew in the upper part of the
tube; red needle-shaped crystals of 3·5C6H6 were ob-
tained at the bottom of the Schlenk tube. Yield: block-
shaped crystals, 0.186 g (22%); needle-like crystals,
0.072 g (7.7%). IR (KBr, cm−1) for 3·5C6H6: 1637.6
(w), 1627.1 (w), 1598.7 (w), 1563.3 (w), 1545.3 (w),
1524.6 (s), 1511.0 (s), 1499.1 (s), 1480.3 (m), 1461.4 (m),
1447.5 (m), 1410.5 (m), 1376.2 (m), 1343.4 (m), 1261.7
(vs), 1218.3 (w), 1094.7 (vs), 1023.2 (vs), 905.3 (w),
801.4 (vs), 689.2 (w), 659.4 (w), 562.0 (w), 477.5 (w),
449.3 (w).
and
1%,3%-dihydrospiro[cyclohexane-1,2%-[2H]imidazo-
[4,5-b]pyridine] (H(CHIP)) were purchased from
Aldrich and sublimed prior to use. Tetrakis(trifluoro-
acetato)dimolybdenum was prepared following
a
known procedure [9]. Anhydrous CrCl2 was purchased
from Strem Chemicals, and stored in a dry box under
argon. Methyllithium (1.0 M solution in THF–cumene)
and butyllithium (1.6 M in hexanes) were purchased
from Aldrich. NMR spectra were obtained on a Varian
VXR-300 spectrometer. Infrared spectra were recorded
from KBr pellets on a Perkin–Elmer 16 PC FTIR
spectrometer.
2.1.1. Preparation of Li(acetone)4[Cr2(carb)4Cl]·
2CH3COCH3 (1)
The compound Hcarb (0.47 g, 2.8 mmol) was dis-
solved in THF (20 ml), and deprotonated at −78°C by
adding 3.0 ml (3.0 mmol) of 1.0 M MeLi in THF–
cumene; a pale yellow solution of Li(carb) [10] was
obtained. Anhydrous CrCl2 (0.30 g, 2.4 mmol) was
added through a solids addition tube. After stirring at
room temperature for 24 h, an orange solid was col-
lected by filtration, washed with 3×30 ml of benzene,
and extracted with acetone (10 ml). The dark-red solu-
tion obtained was then layered with hexanes; red crys-
tals of 1 were obtained after 3 days. Yield: 0.24 g (29%).
IR (KBr pellet, cm−1): 1623.9 (m), 1594.1 (m), 1550.7
(m), 1496.8 (w), 1469.1 (m), 1446.0 (s), 1418.3 (vs),
1362.6 (m), 1328.6 (w), 1276.7 (vs), 1229.6 (s), 1198.8
(m), 1150.9 (w), 1121.6 (m), 1106.3 (m), 1008.2 (m),
924.8 (w) 878.3 (w), 801.2 (m), 768.4 (vs), 738.5 (m),
2.1.4. Preparation of Mo2(azin)4 (4) as 4·2CH3COCH3
and 4·2THF
The compound Hazin (0.50 g, 4.2 mmol) was dis-
solved in THF (20 ml), and deprotonated at −78°C by
adding 4.2 ml (4.2 mmol) of 1.0 M MeLi in THF–
cumene, then a solution of Mo2(OOCCF3)4 (0.70 g, 1.1
mmol) in THF (20 ml) was added to the Li(azin)
solution, at low temperature. The resulting dark sus-
pension was then stirred at room temperature for 12 h.
A yellow solid was collected by filtration, and extracted
with acetone (20 ml). The acetone extract was then
filtered through a column of Celite, and layered with
hexanes; dark-green crystals of 4·2CH3COCH3 were
obtained in a week. Yield: 0.22 g (27%). Compound
3 The crystal structures of a-carboline and the structure of
Ni2(carb)4 were described in Ref. [3]. The molecule of a-carboline is,
as expected, perfectly flat, and the NiꢀNi distance in Ni2(carb)4 is
,
2.581 A.

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F.A. Cotton et al. / Inorganica Chimica Acta 300–302 (2000) 319–327
Table 1
Crystal and structure refinement data
Complex
1
2
3
3·5C6H6
4·2CH3COCH3 4·2THF
1
Empirical formula
Formula weight
Space group
Unit cell dimensions
C62H64N8O6Cr2ClLi C56H52N8O4Cr2ClLi C44H56N12Cr2Cl2 C74H86N12Cr2 C34H32N8O2Mo2 C36H36N8O2Mo2
1163.60
1047.45
857.01
1247.55
776.55
804.61
(
P21/c
P1
I41/a
C2/c
P21/c
P21/c
,
a (A)
20.899(2)
14.803(2)
19.192(3)
90
91.90(3)
90
12.918(3)
13.192(3)
15.274(3)
88.89(3)
86.06(3)
86.96(3)
2592.6(9)
2
19.332(1)
19.332(1)
10.972(1)
90
90
90
23.943(5)
15.625(3)
18.048(4)
90
99.04(3)
90
9.125(5)
12.453(3)
14.845(6)
90
105.73(4)
90
9.1507(6)
13.213(2)
14.176(2)
90
105.083(7)
90
,
b (A)
,
c (A)
h (°)
i (°)
k (°)
V (A )
3
,
5934(1)
4
4100.5(6)
4
6668(2)
4
1624(1)
2
1655.0(3)
2
Z
T (K)
213(2)
0.71073
1.302
4.68
0.061/0.083
0.137/0.166
213(2)
0.71073
1.342
5.25
0.044/0.050
0.109/0.117
213(2)
0.71073
1.388
5.79
0.039/0.042
0.105/0.115
213(2)
0.71073
1.243
3.78
0.057/0.079
0.112/0.136
213(2)
0.71073
1.564
8.16
0.049/0.053
0.117/0.121
213(2)
0.71073
1.615
8.05
0.051/0.060
0.117/0.127
,
Wavelength (A)
Dcalc (g cm−3
)
v (Mo Ka) (cm−1
)
R1 a,c/R1
d
wR2 b,c/wR2
d
a R1=S(ꢀFoꢀ−ꢀFcꢀ)/SꢀFoꢀ
b wR2=[S[w(Fo2−Fc2)2]/S[w(Fo2)2]]1/2; w=1/[|2(Fo2)+(aP)2+bP], P=[max(Fo2 or 0)+2(Fc2)]/3.
c Denotes value of the residual considering only the reflections with I\2|(I).
d Denotes the value of the residual considering all the reflections.
4 has also been crystallized from THF–hexanes as
dark-green block-shaped crystals of 4·2THF. NMR
(CD2Cl2, l, ppm): 8.126 (doublet, 1H), 7.874 (doublet,
1H), 7.572 (1H), 6.916 (triplet, 1H), 6.550 (1H). IR
(KBr pellet, cm−1): 1637.2 (m), 1618.7 (m), 1595.3 (m),
1581.9 (m), 1561.0 (m), 1544.0 (m), 1523.2 (m), 1508.4
(m), 1497.5 (m), 1477.0 (m), 1459.3 (m), 1447.8 (w),
1438.0 (w), 1421.0 (m), 1410.1 (m), 1387.5 (w), 1376.1
(w), 1363.9 (w), 1341.1 (m), 1278.6 (m), 1261.9 (m),
1199.5 (w), 1182.9 (w), 1148.3 (s), 1097.6 (vs), 1055.6
(s), 1036.6 (s), 930.3 (w), 883.2 (w), 862.3 (w), 800.4
(vs), 768.2 (s), 730.5 (s), 671.1 (w), 657.8 (w), 622.5 (w),
591.8 (w), 562.0 (w), 534.0 (w), 502.6 (w), 474.0 (w),
461.2 (w), 445.0 (w), 424.1 (w).
The positions of the metal atoms and sometimes the
atoms of the first coordination sphere were located
from a direct-methods E-map; other non-hydrogen
atoms were found in alternating difference-Fourier syn-
theses and least-squares refinement cycles and, during
the final cycles, refined anisotropically. Hydrogen
atoms were placed in idealized positions for 1, 2,
4·2CH3COCH3 and 4·2THF; the displacement parame-
ter for each H atom was fixed to 1.2 (aromatic) or 1.5
(methyl) times the isotropic equivalent displacement of
the attached C atom. In compound 3 and 3·5C6H6,
hydrogen atoms were found from difference maps and
refined isotropically.
In compound 4, all the atoms of the azin ligands
were found to be disordered; they were modeled as
having two opposite orientations with the occupancy of
each one close to 50%.
2.2. X-ray crystallography
Data collection for all crystals was carried out on a
Nonius FAST area detector diffractometer with each
crystal mounted on the tip of a glass fiber under a
stream of nitrogen at −60°C. Cell parameters were
obtained by least-squares refinement of 250 reflections
ranging in 2q from 18.1 to 41.6°. Laue groups and
centering conditions were confirmed by axial images.
Data were collected using 0.2° intervals in € over the
range 05€5220° and 0.2° intervals in ꢀ for two
different regions in the range 05ꢀ572°; in this way,
nearly a full sphere of data was collected. The highly
redundant data sets were corrected for Lorentz and
polarization effects, and for absorption.
Crystallographic data for 1, 2, 3, 3·5C6H6,
4·2CH3COCH3, and 4·2THF are given in Table 1;
selected bond distances and angles for 1 and 2, 3 and
3·5C6H6 are listed in Tables 2 and 3, respectively.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Synthetic considerations
The azin ligand has been used with only limited
success for the preparation of quadruply bonded pad-
dlewheel complexes [5]. One of the reasons has been the

F.A. Cotton et al. / Inorganica Chimica Acta 300–302 (2000) 319–327
323
difficulty in crystallizing the compounds formed and
then the serious crystallographic disorder problem that
may occur. This problem arises because the five- and
six-membered rings are similar enough in size that
molecular packing in the crystal allows each of the
ligands to be oriented in either direction. Thus we have
modified the azin ligand by fusing a phenyl ring to the
five-membered ring; the ligand so obtained is the anion,
carb, of a-carboline (Hcarb). This produced crystals
without a disorder problem as is evidenced by the
crystal structures of 1 and 2. However, the asymmetric
nature of the carb ligand may well lead to a mixture of
four regio isomers. Simple geometry optimizations us-
4
ing the MM2 method revealed that the energy differ-
ences between any two of the four isomers are quite
small. This implies that none of the four isomers will
dominate in the final product, and thus, it is not
surprising that attempts to crystallize Cr2(carb)4 from a
CH2Cl2 solution of Cr2(carb)4 complexes might be un-
successful. We believe that because the C46 isomer is
uniquely capable of having a Cl− ion coordinated at
one end, it alone is isolated in an ionic form. Actually
there were two ionic forms, 1 and 2. All attempts to
eliminate the LiCl and thus to isolate the simple C46
molecule have failed.
To increase the possibility of isolating a particular
isomer and to increase the solubility of the final com-
plex, a further modification of the ligand was desirable.
The ligand CHIP served well for these purposes. The
bulkiness of the cyclohexyl ring both favors the D2d
isomer and makes for greater solubility. A possible
complication owing to the presence of two amine pro-
tons did not arise because the N atom bound to a
carbon atom at an ortho position of the pyridyl N atom
is more acidic, and thus by carefully controlling the
temperature at −78°C, H(CHIP) was selectively de-
protonated at the desired position.
Table 2
,
Selected bond lengths (A) and angles(°) for compound 1 and com-
pound 2
Compound 1
Compound 2
Bond lengths
Cr(1)ꢀCr(2)
Cr(1)ꢀCl(1)
2.530(1)
2.509(2)
Cr(2)ꢀCr(1)
Cr(2)ꢀCl(1)
Cl(1)ꢀLi
2.5172(8)
2.603(1)
2.325(5)
2.114(2)
2.107(2)
2.112(2)
2.118(2)
2.057(2)
2.028(2)
2.040(2)
2.031(2)
Cr(1)ꢀN(1)
Cr(1)ꢀN(3)
Cr(1)ꢀN(5)
Cr(1)ꢀN(7)
Cr(2)ꢀN(2)
Cr(2)ꢀN(4)
Cr(2)ꢀN(6)
Cr(2)ꢀN(8)
2.119(4)
2.116(4)
2.120(4)
2.118(4)
2.064(4)
2.050(4)
2.054(4)
2.048(4)
Cr(2)ꢀN(2)
Cr(2)ꢀN(4)
Cr(2)ꢀN(6)
Cr(2)ꢀN(8)
Cr(1)ꢀN(1)
Cr(1)ꢀN(3)
Cr(1)ꢀN(5)
Cr(1)ꢀN(7)
Bond angles
Cl(1)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(2)
N(1)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(2)
N(3)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(2)
N(5)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(2)
N(7)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(2)
N(2)ꢀCr(2)ꢀCr(1)
N(4)ꢀCr(2)ꢀCr(1)
N(6)ꢀCr(2)ꢀCr(1)
N(8)ꢀCr(2)ꢀCr(1)
N(1)ꢀC(5)ꢀN(2)
N(3)ꢀC(16)ꢀN(4)
N(5)ꢀC(27)ꢀN(6)
N(7)ꢀC(38)ꢀN(8)
179.33(5)
90.0(1)
87.6(1)
86.7(1)
86.0(1)
87.9(1)
88.3(1)
89.2(1)
90.0(1)
124.2(4)
122.8(4)
123.8(4)
122.8(4)
Cr(1)ꢀCr(2)ꢀCl(1)
N(2)ꢀCr(2)ꢀCr(1)
N(4)ꢀCr(2)ꢀCr(1)
N(6)ꢀCr(2)ꢀCr(1)
N(8)ꢀCr(2)ꢀCr(1)
N(1)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(2)
N(3)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(2)
N(5)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(2)
N(7)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(2)
N(1)ꢀC(11)ꢀN(2)
N(3)ꢀC(22)ꢀN(4)
N(5)ꢀC(33)ꢀN(6)
N(7)ꢀC(44)ꢀN(8)
178.90(3)
87.49(7)
85.97(7)
86.62(7)
86.04(7)
88.24(7)
89.82(7)
89.02(7)
89.27(8)
123.2(3)
122.9(3)
123.5(3)
122.7(3)
The synthesis of Mo2(azin)4 was quite straightfor-
ward; crystallization from THF and acetone resulted in
two different crystal forms, which have different
strengths of axial coordination and thus different
MoꢀMo distances (see below).
3.2. Structural considerations
Compound 1 crystallized in the space group P21/c;
all atoms are in general positions. The structure of the
anion [Cr2(carb)4)(Cl)]− is depicted in Fig. 1. The
dichromium unit is surrounded by four carb ligands; all
phenyl rings are oriented toward one end, with a chlo-
ride ion axially coordinated to the opposite end. For
each ligand, all atoms are coplanar, the chloride ion
and the two chromium atoms are aligned, and thus the
anion has idealized C46 symmetry. The CrꢀCl bond
Table 3
,
Selected bond lengths (A) and angles (°) for compound 3 and
compound 3·5C6H6
Compound 3
Compound 3·5C6H6
Bond lengths
CrꢀCrA
CrꢀN(1)
2.016(1)
2.061(2)
2.041(2)
Cr(1)ꢀCr(1A)
Cr(1)ꢀN(1A)
Cr(1)ꢀN(2)
Cr(1)ꢀN(4A)
Cr(1)ꢀN(5)
2.125(2)
2.042(3)
2.064(3)
2.039(3)
2.066(3)
,
length is 2.509(2) A, and the CrꢀCr distance is 2.531(1)
,
A, which can be compared with those distances in a
CrꢀN(2A)
7-azaindole complex Cr2(azin)4(DMF)2 [5c], where two
DMF molecules are axially coordinated to
a
,
dichromium unit with a CrꢀO distance of 2.274(5) A,
Bond angles
CrAꢀCrꢀN(1)
CrAꢀCrꢀN(2A)
,
and a longer CrꢀCr separation of 2.604(2) A.
94.62(6) N(1A)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(1A)
94.51(6) N(2)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(1A)
94.4(1)
90.3(1)
94.9(1)
89.90(9)
123.2(4)
124.1(4)
N(2)ꢀC(11)ꢀN(1) 123.6(2)
N(4A)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(1A)
N(5)ꢀCr(1)ꢀCr(1A)
N(1)ꢀC(11)ꢀN(2)
N(4)ꢀC(22)ꢀN(5)
4 The program CACHE was used to perform these geometry opti-
mizations. (Cache Scientific Inc., 1993, release 3.5.)

324
F.A. Cotton et al. / Inorganica Chimica Acta 300–302 (2000) 319–327
Fig. 1. A drawing of the molecular structure of [Cr2(carb)4(Cl)]− in 1. Ellipsoids are shown at the 50% probability level; hydrogen atoms have
been omitted for clarity.
Fig. 2. A drawing of the molecular structure of [Cr2(carb)4(m-Cl)Li(acetone)3] in 2. Ellipsoids are drawn at 50% probability level, and hydrogen
atoms are omitted for clarity.
Attempts to remove the Cl− anion by refluxing a
suspension of 1 in toluene failed. Compound 2, a
coordination isomer of 1, in which the four carb ligands
are arranged in a way similar to that in 1, but with the
Cl− anion now shared by a Cr atom and a Li atom, has
also been obtained and characterized by X-ray crystal-
lography. A drawing of the molecular structure of 2 is
,
shown in Fig. 2. The CrꢀCl distance of 2.603(1) A is

F.A. Cotton et al. / Inorganica Chimica Acta 300–302 (2000) 319–327
325
,
0.094(2) A longer than that in 1. As expected, the CrꢀCr
,
distance of 2.5172(8) A is slightly shorter than the CrꢀCr
,
distance of 2.531(1) A in 1. However, we have still not
achieved our goal of characterizing a simple Cr2(carb)4
molecule.
With the CHIP ligand we obtained the first example
of a dichromium unit in a sheath of divergent ligands
without axial coordination. This compound, Cr2(CHIP)4
(3) crystallizes in space group I41/a with the CrꢀCr vector
(
along a crystallographic 4 axis. Thus, the molecule has
(
S4 (4) symmetry crystallographically, but, as can be seen
in Fig. 3, it has effectively the higher symmetry D2d. The
,
CrꢀCr distance is 2.016(1) A, which may be compared
,
with distances of 1.851(7) A in Cr2(hpp)4 [11] (hpp is IIf)
,
and 1.858(1) A in Cr2(PhN3Ph)4 [12]. The increased
,
CrꢀCr distance (by approximately 0.16 A) for
Cr2(CHIP)4 clearly shows the importance of the diver-
gent nature of the CHIP ligand. However, it is evident
in Fig. 3(a) that although the CHIP ligand is divergent,
the CrꢀN bonds in Cr2(CHIP)4 actually converge (by
about 9.1°). Evidently, the CHIP ligand is compliant
enough that a balance is struck between its divergent
tendency and the preference of the Cr24+ unit to have a
,
bond length of B1.9 A.
The much longer CrꢀCr distances in Cr2(azin)4-
(DMF)2 and [Cr2(carb)4Cl]− cases can be attributed to
a combination of two factors: (a) the azin and carb
ligands are not compliant; and (b) the presence of axial
ligands. Indeed, there may be synergic interplay between
these two properties.
Compound 3·5C6H6 crystallizes in space group C2/c
with a twofold axis going through the middle of the
CrꢀCr bond. A diagram of the molecular structure of
Cr2(CHIP)4 in 3·5C6H6 is given in Fig. 4. The average
NꢀCrꢀCrꢀN torsional angle is 14.5°, and the average
convergent angle is reduced by 4.3(1) to 4.8(1)° 5 to
release the strain caused by the convergence of the two
CrꢀN bonds in each ligand; the CrꢀCr bond is now
elongated by 0.109(2) A, to 2.125(2) A. Since in the
Cr2(carboxylate)4 case, benzene can be a significant axial
donor to the dichromium unit [13], the positions of the
five benzene molecules in 3·5C6H6 have been carefully
checked; none of them is so placed as to be an axial
ligand. Thus, the elongation of the CrꢀCr separation in
3·C6H6 can mainly be attributed to the release of the
strain caused by the convergence of the two CrꢀN bonds
in each divergent-bite ligand due to the CrꢀCr bonding.
The successful syntheses of W2(azin)4 [5a] and
Cr2(CHIP)4 encouraged us to obtain a homologous series
Fig. 3. A top view and a side view of the molecular structure of 3.
Ellipsoids are shown at the 50% probability level; hydrogen atoms are
omitted for clarity.
,
,
5 Since in this case the NꢀCrꢀCrꢀN torsional angle is not equal to
zero, the convergent angle can be obtained by the extrapolation of
the MꢀN bond projections on the torsional angle dividing plane.
Fig. 4. A drawing of molecular structure of Cr2(CHIP)4 in 3·5C6H6
showing the twisting of the ligand frame.

326
F.A. Cotton et al. / Inorganica Chimica Acta 300–302 (2000) 319–327
Fig. 5. A drawing of the molecular structure of 4·2CH3COCH3. Also shown are the two disordered orientation of the ligands, and axial
coordination from the two acetone molecules.
Mo2(OOCCF3)4(py)2. In the latter case, the nitrogen
donors are stronger and closer than the axial O donors
in 4·2CH3COCH3. A possible explanation for the above
observation is that the five-membered-ring geometry in
Mo2(azin)4 and the weak basicity of the bridging lig-
ands in Mo2(OOCCF3)4 make them more susceptible to
axial coordination.
A list of bond lengths of quadruple bonds supported
by a non-divergent-bite ligand DTolF (DTolF repre-
sents the anion of di-p-tolylformamidine [15]) and di-
vergent-bite ligands are given in Table 4. Also in Table
4 are the FSRs, formal shortness ratio [1], defined for a
bond AꢀB as:
of compounds with metal atoms from the first, second
and third transition series, embraced by a set of diver-
gent-bite ligands.
Compound 4·2THF and compound 4·2CH3COCH3
are isotypic with W2(azin)4·2THF [5a]. The orienta-
tional disorder was modeled successfully as mentioned
previously in the crystallographic section of this paper.
A notable observation in the two Mo2(azin)4 complex is
the lengthening of the MoꢀMo bond by axial coordina-
tion. In 4·2CH3COCH3, the two oxygen donors of the
acetone molecules point directly to the dimolybdenum
,
unit at a distance of 2.710(2) A (Fig. 5). The MoꢀMo
,
distance is 2.135(1) A. Normally the axial coordination
FSRAB=DAꢀB/(R1A+R1B)
,
of an oxygen donor, which is 2.710(2) A away from a
dimolybdenum unit, is negligible. However, in 4·2THF,
where R1A and R1B are Pauling’s atomic radii of A and
B, respectively; DAꢀB represents the bond distance of an
AꢀB bond. From the FSR differences and bond length
differences in Table 4, it can be concluded that the
CrꢀCr bond is the most sensitive one to the geometry
change of the bridging ligands. This reminds us of the
trend of sensitivity to axial coordination [16], the CrꢀCr
bond being the most sensitive one. To what extent these
,
,
the MoꢀMo distance of 2.1239(9) A is 0.011(1) A
shorter than in 4·2CH3COCH3, and now the oxygen
,
donors (from THF) are 3.069(2) A away. This reminds
us of the complex Mo2(OOCCF3)4(py)2 [14], where the
,
axial nitrogen donors are 2.548(8) A away, but the
,
MoꢀMo distance is lengthened from 2.090(4) A in
,
Mo2(OOCCF3)4 [9] by 0.039(6) to 2.129(2) A in
Table 4
Comparison of homologous series of Cr, Mo, W complexes supported by non-divergent-bite ligands and divergent-bite ligands
Non-divergent-bite cases
Divergent-bite cases
Differences
,
,
,
Complexes
MꢀM (A)
1.930(2)
2.085(4)
2.187(1)
FSR
Complexes
Cr2(CHIP)4
Mo2(azin)4·2THF
W2(azin)4·2THF
MꢀM (A)
FSR
(MꢀM) (A)
FSR
Cr2(DTolF)4
Mo2(DTolF)4
W2(DTolF)4
0.814
0.804
0.838
2.016(1)
2.1239(9)
2.227(2)
0.850
0.819
0.854
0.086(2)
0.039(4)
0.040(2)
0.036
0.015
0.016

F.A. Cotton et al. / Inorganica Chimica Acta 300–302 (2000) 319–327
327
trends reflect the MꢀM bond strengths needs to be
explored further.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the National Science Foundation
for financial support of this work.
3.3. Concluding remarks
A non-axially coordinated CrꢀCr quadruply bonded
complex in a sheath of four divergent-bite ligands and
its Mo analogue have, for the first time, been isolated
and crystallographically characterized. In the di-
chromium complex, the FSR is found to be 0.85 (bond
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geometry, the CrꢀCr bond is significantly elongated, by
−
,
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4. Supplementary material
Full listings of atomic coordinates, bond distances,
bond angles, anisotropic displacement parameters, hy-
drogen atom coordinates (26 pages) are available from
author F.A. Cotton.
.