Reactivity of the labile complex [MoCl(eta3-allyl)(CO)2(NCMe)2] with diphosphanes

The reactions of [MoCl(3-allyl)(CO)2(NCMe)2](1) with variable ratios of bis(dimethylphosphanyl)methane (dmpm) or bis(diphenylphosphanyl) methane (dppm) afford different products, in which the diphosphanes are acting either as a chelate, as in [MoCl(3-allyl)(CO)2(P-P)](P-P = dmpm 2, dppm 6) and [Mo(NCMe)(3-allyl)(CO)2(P-P)][{Mo(3-allyl)(CO)2}2(mu-Cl)3](P-P = dmpm 4, dppm 8) or as a bridge as in [{Mo(eta3-allyl)(CO)2}2(muCl)2(mu-P-P)](P-P = dmpm 3, dppm 7). The analogous reaction with tetraethyldiphosphite (tedip) affords [{Mo(3-allyl)(CO)2}2(mu-Cl)2(mu-tedip)](5) as a single product.