SYNTHESIS AND CRYSTAL STRUCTURES OF [Na(CH3OH)5]2[M6Br8(OCH3)6] (M = Mo , W)

I. Bašic1, N. Brnicevic1, Z. Zhihong2 and R. E. McCarley2

1Ruder Boškovia Institute, Bijenieka 54, 10001 Zagreb, Croatia
2Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA

Keywords: hexanuclear cluster alkoxides, molybdenum bromo cluster, tungsten bromo cluster, crystal structures

So far there is no solved crystal structure for the hexanuclear tungsten halide cluster alkoxide family with [W6X8]4+ (X = halogen) unit. The reactions of [M6Br8]4+ (M = Mo, W) with an excess of NaOCH3 in dry and inert atmosphere resulted with crystallization of orange colored single crystals of the composition [Na(CH3OH)5]2[M6Br8(OCH3)6], M = Mo 1, W 2. Crystal structures of the triclinic compounds 1 and 2 were solved and refined from single crystal X-ray diffraction data. Both compounds crystallize in the triclinic space group P1- (No. 2) with Z = 1 and unit cell parameters:
1: a = 10.810(3)
A, b = 12.270(2) A, c = 10.779(3) A, a = 97.31(2)°, b = 119.36(2)°, g = 95.42(2)°, R = 0.065;
2
: a = 10.764(5)
A, b = 10.818(5) A, c = 12.219(4) A, a = 95.21(3)°, b = 97.35(3)°, g = 119.41(3)°, R = 0.068.

Clusters 1 and 2 contain [Na(CH3OH)5]+ complex cation and [M6Br8(OCH3)6]2- cluster anion. An inversion center is located in the middle of the M6 octahedra. Each anion is surrounded by six cations being interconnected with hydrogen bonds (in the range 2.65 A to 2.80 A) between methanol molecules from the [Na(CH3OH)5]+ cation and oxygen from coordinated methoxo groups of the [M6Br8(OCH3)6]2- anion in a three-dimensional network. The system of hydrogen bonds influences the M-O interatomic distances in the [M6Br8(OCH3)6]2- anion. Namely, some oxygen atoms from coordinated methoxo groups are involved in two hydrogen bonds having as the consequence the elongation of the M-O interatomic distances [1]. Small difference in M-M bond distances (2.629 A and 2.616 A, average) and M-Br bond distances (2.622 A and
2.618
A, average) for clusters 1 and 2, respectively, indicate the lanthanoide contraction similar to the phenomenon already observed for CsErM6Br18 [2], [M6Br12(H2O)6][HgBr4]·12H2O [3] and [M6Cl12(EtOH)6][(Mo6Cl8)Cl6]·6EtOH [4],
M = Nb, Ta. The structures of 1 and 2 are closely related to that of [Na(CH3OH)5]2[Mo6Cl8(OCH3)6] [5]. The Na
-O bond distances (average 2.32 A) are similar to those found in [Na2(CH3OH)9][Ta6Cl12(OCH3)6]·3CH3OH (average 2.37 A) [6].

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