Generation of a µ3-vinylidene ligand via step-wise cleavage of 1,1-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethylene at di- and tri-iron centres
Abstract
Through a sequence of thermally- and photochemically-induced steps the 1,1-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethylene ligand in [Fe2(CO)7{µ-(Ph2P)2CCH2}] or [Fe3(CO)10{µ-(Ph2P)2CCH2}] is fragmented to generate the µ3-vinylidene complex [Fe3(CO)6(µ-CO)(µ-PPh2)2(µ3-CCH2)]; the structures of the latter and of two ‘phospha-allene’ precursors [Fe2(CO)5(µ-PPh2)(µ-Ph2PCCH2)] and [Fe3(CO)9(µ-PPh2)(µ3-Ph2PCCH2)] have been established by X-ray diffraction.