Isolation and structure of the anti,anti isomer and a DFT study of it and the syn,anti isomer of bis(tricarbonylchromium)dibenzo-[a,e]cyclooctatetraene. Evidence for an attractive electrostatic interaction between carbonyl oxygen atoms and Cr(CO)3-coordin

•Reflux of DBCOT with Cr(CO)6 yields syn,anti and anti,anti isomers (12:1).•Syn,anti more stable than anti,anti (structure reported) by 1.8 kcal/mol from DFT.•Stabilized by electrostatic interaction between O's of syn-Cr(CO)3 and C's of arene.•C–H⋯π (dimeric motif) and C–H⋯O interactions observed in crystal of anti,anti.•Steric inhibition of anti,anti-diene,arene dinuclear complex important.

When dibenzo[a,e]cyclooctatetraene and hexacarbonylchromium are refluxed in di-n-butyl ether/THF for an extended period, both the syn,anti and anti,anti isomers of the bis-tricarbonylchromium complex are obtained. After separation by column chromatography, the syn,anti:anti,anti isomer ratio is approximately 12:1. The anti,anti arrangement of the Cr(CO)3 groups was verified by X-ray crystallographic structure determination. The orientations of the two tricarbonylchromium tripods relative to the 1,2-disubstituted arene rings differ. One is exo staggered while the other is eclipsed. Intermolecular C–H⋯O hydrogen bonding is prevalent in the crystal and is reminiscent of the syn,anti isomer. A dimeric motif in the solid resulting from C–H⋯π interactions is observed. DFT calculations on both isomers confirms that the syn,anti isomer is favored. The preferred orientation for the anti Cr(CO)3 groups in both cases is exo staggered. However, the barrier to rotation is low, allowing hydrogen bonding to readily overcome this barrier and control the orientation of the tripod. While thermodynamic consideration support the preference for the syn,anti isomer, kinetic factors may also be important as this isomer would be formed preferentially due to steric inhibition of the diene coordination site by the mononuclear anti isomer. The stabilization of the syn,anti isomer occurs by an electrostatic attraction of the syn carbonyl groups with the anti Cr(CO)3-coordinated arene carbon atoms. A reexamination of the structural parameters verifies nonbonded carbon–oxygen distances less than the sum of the van der Waals radii in the syn,anti isomer. A search of the Cambridge Structural Database results in a significant number of interactions of this nature for arenetricarbonylchromium complexes.

Graphical abstractSynthesis, crystal structure and theoretical calculations on anti,anti-dibenzo[a,e]cyclooctatetraene[Cr(CO)3]2 are reported. Comparison of DFT results with those for the syn,anti isomer suggest the latter is more stable by 1.8 kcal/mol because of an electrostatic interaction between carbonyl oxygen atom and coordinated arene.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide