The reaction of iron carboxylates with titanium alkoxides. Isolation and structural characterisation of [Ti6(μ3-O)6(O2CPh)6(OCH2C(CH3)3)6]

The reaction of [Fe4(μ3-O)2(O2CPh)8(py)2] (1) with Ti(OPrn)4 in toluene yields separate Fe and Ti species each containing both carboxylate and alkoxide groups rather than a bimetallic FeTi complex. The addition of neopentanol to the reaction mixture has enabled [Ti6(μ3-O)6(O2CPh)6(OCH2C(CH3)3)6] (3) to be isolated and structurally identified. The compound [Ti6(μ3-O)4(O2CPh)8(OPrn)8] (4) has also been characterised and shown not to convert to a {Ti6(μ3-O)6}12+ core compound under the same temperature conditions used in the FeTi reactions.