Raft-like osmium- and ruthenium-antimony carbonyl clusters

The higher nuclearity raft-like cluster Os-6(CO)(20)(mu-SbPh2)(2), 5-Os, was isolated from the base hydrolysis of Os-3(CO)(11)(SbPh2Cl), 1-Os. The ruthenium analogue, viz., Ru-6(CO)(20)(mu-SbPh2)(2), 5-Ru, was obtained from the reduction of Ru-3(CO)(12), 7-Ru, with the benzophenone ketyl radical followed by treatment with SbPh2Cl. These clusters undergo facile ligand substitution reactions with two -electron donors to afford the mono- and disubstituted derivatives M-6(CO)(20-n)(mu-SbPh2)(2)(L)(n), (M = Ru or Os; n = 1 (8) or 2 (9); L = PMe3 (a), PPh3 (b), or tBuNC (c)). (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.