Carborane Stabilized "19-Electron" Molybdenum Metalloradical

J Am Chem Soc. 2021 Jul 7;143(26):9842-9848. doi: 10.1021/jacs.1c03568. Epub 2021 Jun 23.

Abstract

Paramagnetic metal complexes gained a lot of attention due to their participation in a number of important chemical reactions. In most cases, these complexes are dominated by 17-e metalloradicals that are associatively activated with highly reactive paramagnetic 19-e species. Molybdenum paramagnetic complexes are among the most investigated ones. While some examples of persistent 17-e Mo-centered radicals have been reported, in contrast, 19-e Mo-centered radicals are illusive species and as such could rarely be detected. In this work, the photodissociation of the [Cp(CO)3Mo]2 dimer (1) in the presence of phosphines was revisited. As a result, the first persistent, formally 19-e Mo radical with significant electron density on the Mo center (22%), Cp(CO)3MoPPh2(o-C2B10H11) (5b), was generated and characterized by EPR spectroscopy and MS as well as studied by DFT calculations. The stabilization of 5b was likely achieved due to a unique electron-withdrawing effect of the o-carboranyl substituent at the phosphorus center.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.