Synthesis and reactivity of a heterobimetallic Mo,Co complex

[Display omitted] •A heterobimetallic [Mo0;CoIII] complex was synthesized and structurally characterized.•The corresponding monometallic [CoIII] counterpart was also obtained.•Both metals in [Mo0;CoIII] are electronically independent from each other, as shown by cyclic voltammetry.•[Mo0;CoIII] showed very low activity in CO2 hydrogenation, but no conversion was observed for [CoIII]. A heterobimetallic [Mo0;CoIII] complex and the monometallic [CoIII] counterpart were synthesized and fully characterized. Both metals are electronically independent from each other, as shown by cyclic voltammetry. This is in agreement with previous results, obtained in a separate, previously published study, for the RhIII and IrIII analogues of the mono- and heterobimetallic complexes. The catalytic activity of [Mo0;CoIII] and [CoIII], which was analyzed in this work in homogeneous carbon dioxide hydrogenation to formate was studied. While [Mo0;CoIII] showed very low activity, no conversion was observed for [CoIII]. The low activity is most likely due to instability of the corresponding hydride complex, which could undergo reductive elimination liberating 2-phenylpyridine.