Structure and Dynamics of a Dihydrogen/Hydride Ansa Molybdenocene Complex

Pons, Vincent; Conway, Stephen L. J.; Green, Malcolm L. H.; Green, Jennifer C.; Herbert, Benjamin J. and Heinekey, D. Michael (2004). Structure and Dynamics of a Dihydrogen/Hydride Ansa Molybdenocene Complex. Inorganic Chemistry, 43(11) pp. 3475–3483.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/ic0496875

Abstract

In contrast to [Cp₂MoH₃]⁺, which is a thermally stable trihydride complex, the ansa-bridged analogue [(η-C₅H₄)₂CMe₂MoH(H₂)]+ (1) is a thermally labile dihydrogen/hydride complex. Partial deuteration of the hydride ligands allows observation of J_H-D = 11.9 Hz in 1-d₁ and 9.9 Hz in 1-d₂ (245 K), indicative of a dihydrogen/hydride structure. There is a slight preference for deuterium to concentrate in the dihydrogen ligand. A rapid dynamic process interchanges the hydride and dihydrogen moieties in complex 1. Low temperature ¹H NMR spectra of 1 give a single hydride resonance, which broadens at very low temperature due to rapid dipole−dipole relaxation (T₁ = 23 ms (750 MHz, 175 K) for the hydride resonance in 1). Low temperature ¹H NMR spectra of 1-d₂ allow the observation of decoalescence at 180 K into two resonances. The bound dihydrogen ligand exhibits hindered rotation with ΔG^⧧₁₅₀ = 7.4 kcal/mol, but H atom exchange is still rapid at all accessible temperatures (down to 130 K). Density functional calculations confirm the dihydrogen/hydride structure as the ground state for the molecule and give estimates for the energy of two hydrogen exchange processes in good agreement with experiment. The presence of the C ansa bridge is shown to decrease the ability of the metallocene fragment to donate to the hydrogens, thus stabilizing the (η²-H₂) unit and modulating the barrier to H₂ rotation.

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