Christopher R. Clough Created 2026-10-20 Updated 2026-11-05
Triphenylphosphine is , a neutral phosphine ligand whose phenyl substituents affect both steric demand and electronic donation.
Jared S. Silvia Created 2026-10-20 Updated 2026-11-05
Jared S. Silvia coauthored synthesis and structural characterization of a molybdenum tricarbonyl coordination complex with a cyclic trimetaphosphate ligand. The isolated material contains an organic counterion.
Crystallographic determination of ligand geometry establishes molecular connectivity, while isolation with a specified counterion establishes which salt was actually obtained. These are complementary experimental claims.[ref]
A reasonable product is sodium facial trimetaphosphate–molybdenum tricarbonyl, with the anion
One terminal O from each phosphorus binds Mo; the three O donors occupy one octahedral face, while the three carbonyls occupy the opposite face. The ring bridges remain P–O–P bridges and are not replaced by Mo–P bonds. Mo remains Mo(0), , and electrons. Overall,
acetonitrile can transiently replace CO during heating, but it is not required in the final six-coordinate proposal. The same anion has been structurally characterized with a different counterion: that primary study independently supports the facial O/CO connectivity, without establishing identical solubility or yield for the sodium salt.[ref]
Peter Müller Created 2026-10-20 Updated 2026-11-05
Peter Müller coauthored crystallographic characterization of a trimetaphosphate-bound molybdenum tricarbonyl anion. The structure establishes facial oxygen coordination of the phosphate ligand.
The result shows how a cyclic oxyanion can act as a multidentate ligand. Counterion identity and coordination geometry remain distinct parts of the characterization.[ref]