Methylrhenium oxides

Reactions of the rhenium(VII) precursors Re2O7, acetyl perrhenate, trifluoroacetyl perrhenate, chlorotrioxorhenium and trimethylsilyl perrhenate are performed with various common tin free methylating agents. The yields of MTO and the products of partial reduction, bis[dimethyl(μ-oxo)oxo-rhenium(VI)] and (μ-oxo)bis[trimethyloxorhenium(VI)], are quantified by NMR spectroscopy. With aluminium- and copper-containing methylating agents none of the above mentioned compounds are formed, solely perrhenate and rhenium(VI) oxide are detected. The best result is achieved with trifluoroacetyl perrhenate and dimethylzinc, yielding >60% MTO.