Synthesis and reactivity of a heterobimetallic Mo,Co complex

A heterobimetallic [Mo degrees;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 [Mo degrees;CoIII] and [CoIII], which was analyzed in this work in homogeneous carbon dioxide hydrogenation to formate was studied. While [Mo degrees; 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.