FAC-TRICARBONYLTRIS(TRIPHENYL PHOSPHITE)-MOLYBDENUM(0)

There are two independent molecules of the title compound, [Mo(CO)(3)(C18H15O3P)(3)](3) in the asymmetric unit; the geometry about the Mo atom is distorted octahedral, with principal mean dimensions Mo-P 2.435 (8), Mo- C 1.99 (3), P-O 1.604 (18) Angstrom, P-Mo-P 90 (3), C-Mo-C 86 (3), cis-C-Mo-P 92 (5), trans-C-Mo-P 174 (3), C-O-P 128 (4) and Mo-C-O 174 (2)degrees. The short mean Mo-P bond distance reflects the strong pi-acceptor ability of P(OPh)(3), as also demonstrated by the highly shielded delta(Mo-95) value (-1673 p.p.m.), whereas the various angle distortions attest to the significant but not large steric effect of the P(OPh(3))(3) ligand in the fac environment. The P-atom geometry is distorted tetrahedral, with larger mean Mo-P-O angles [118(4)degrees] and smaller mean O-P-O angles [100(3)degrees].