Synthesis and characterization of the substituted products from the reaction of a bulky phosphite with [Os3(CO)12]

Reaction of (acetonitrile)-undeca(carbonyl)-tri-osmium and tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphite yielded the phosphite clusters [Os3(CO)11L] (4) and [Os3(CO)10L2] (5) [L = P(O-2,4-tBu2C6H3)3]. These compounds were characterized spectroscopically and the molecular structure of 5 was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction, the first reported structural analysis of a tri-osmium cluster containing aromatic phosphite ligands. Compound 5 crystallized in the triclinic space group P1, and revealed an equatorial trans-trans position of the bulky phosphite ligands.