Molybdocene dichloride

The compound is prepared from molybdocene dihydride by treatment with chloroform: :(C5H5)2MoH2 + 2 CHCl3 → (C5H5)2MoCl2 + 2 CH2Cl2 The compound adopts a "clamshell" structure where the Cp rings are not parallel, the average Cp(centroid)-M-Cp angle being 130.6°. The two chloride ligands are cis, the Cl-Mo-Cl angle of 82° being narrower than in niobocene dichloride (85.6°), which in turn is less than in zirconacene dichloride (92.1°). This trend helped to establish the orientation of the HOMO in this class of complex. ==Uses==

Unlike the titanocene and zirconacene derivatives, the molybdocene compounds have yielded no commercial applications. All metallocene dihalides exhibit some anti-cancer activity, but these have not yielded useful compounds in the clinic. ==References==