Structure and Dynamics of a Dihydrogen/Hydride Ansa Molybdenocene Complex

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-d 1 and 9.9 Hz in 1-d 2 (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 (T 1 = 23 ms (750 MHz, 175 K) for the hydride resonance in 1). Low temperature 1H NMR spectra of 1-d 2 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.