Coupling of pentacarbonyl[(cyclopropyl)methoxymethylene]molybdenum complex with ferrocenyl alkynes: Synthesis of ferrocenyl-substituted cycloheptadienones and cycloheptenediones

Pentacarbonyl[(cyclopropyl)methoxymethylene]molybdenum complex reacts with ferrocenyl alkynes to afford ferrocenyl-substituted 2,4-cycloheptadienones as major products, accompanied by varying amounts of 2-cycloheptene-1,4-diones and/or 2-cyclobutenones. 2-Cycloheptene-1,4-diones are secondary reaction products and result from initially formed 2,4-cycloheptadienones via hydrolysis. In one reaction, a hydroxy-substituted 2,4-cycloheptadienone derivative was isolated, which was not observed previously from similar reactions.