A kinetic and spectroscopic study of the interaction between a M(CO)5 (M=Cr, W) fragment and ethyl diazoacetate

The reaction between Cr(CO)5[C6H6] and ethyl diazoacetate (EDA) has been studied using the technique of laser flash photolysis. Results indicate that the Cr(CO)5 fragment reacts very rapidly with the EDA ligand. Low temperature spectroscopic studies suggest that in the case of W(CO)5, and by analogy also in the case of Cr(CO)5, the initial adduct between the pentacarbonyl fragment and EDA is one where the oxygen atom of the diazocarbonyl ligand is bound to the metal center. This kinetic product is then converted to a thermodynamically favored complex which is tentatively assigned as the nitrogen bound W(CO)5-EDA complex that appears to be stable at r.t.