Reaction of either
(n-Bu4N)2[Mo5O13(OMe)4(NO){Na(MeOH)}]·xMeOH
or
(n-Bu4N)3[Mo6O18(NO)]
with
various reducing agents, including
N2H4·2HCl, in methanol or in a mixture
of methanol and acetonitrile, yields
reduced nitrosyl decamolybdates, among which
(n-Bu4N)[Mo10O25(OMe)6(NO)]
((n-Bu4N)II) and two forms of
(n-Bu4N)2[Mo10O24(OMe)7(NO)]
((n-Bu4N)2
IVa and
(n-Bu4N)2
IVb) have been
crystallographically characterized.
IVa,b
are diastereoisomers that differ in the location of methoxo groups.
The molecular structures of II and IV are
closely
related to that of
[W10O32]4-, the
so-called decatungstate Y, and consist of two halves of five
edge-sharing octahedra
connected through four quasi-linear Mo−O−Mo bridges. Besides
the four electrons essentially residing at the
Mo(II) center bearing the nitrosyl ligand, II and
IV further accommodate two and four delocalized “blue”
electrons,
respectively. II and IV thus contain
molybdenum atoms in three different oxidation states, Mo(II),
Mo(V), and
Mo(VI). On the basis of their optical spectra, they are best
described as class II mixed-valence complexes according
to the classification of Robin and Day. Their intimate electronic
structure has been further investigated by means
of extended Hückel calculations on the model compound
[Mo10O26(OH)6]. The
composition of the HOMO clearly
demonstrates that the “blue” electrons are circulating among the
eight equatorial molybdenum sites, the delocalization
being strongly favored by the quasi-linear M−O−Mo
bridges.