New dicarbonyl-o-semiquinonato rhodium complexes

Two novel dicarbonyl-o-semiquinonato rhodium complexes were obtained. Analysis of structural features of four analogous complexes - derivatives of 3,6-di-tert-butyl-o-semiquinone - allows us to suppose that the absence of intermolecular polar interactions in a complex having no back-bonded substituents is one of the reasons for an unusual photomechanical effect - reversible bending of thread-like crystals under light and/or warm excitation.