Investigation into the reaction of (t-BuC5H4)2Nb(η2-Te2)H with CH3Li: Hydride abstraction versus telluride methylation

The reaction of [Cp2′Nb(Te2)H](1) (Cp′ = t-BuC5H4) with CH3Li in THF simultaneously gave diamagnetic [Cp2′NbH2(TeCH3)](2) and paramagnetic [Cp2′Nb(TeCH3)2](4). The subsequent reaction of 4 with [Co2(CO)8] gave [Cp2′Nb(μ-TeCH3)2Co(CO)2](5). The compounds have been characterized by IR, ESR, MS and variable temperature 1H NMR spectroscopy.