Molybdenum Trisanilide
Channel: ccclabmit
Date: 2013-08-16

This is the preparation of Mo(N[tBu]Ar)3, affectionately known as "molly trisanilide", where Ar is defined as 3,5-C6H3Me2. Originally synthesized by undergraduate researcher Catalina E. Laplaza in the Cummins lab at MIT, studies of the reactivity of this molecule including complete six-electron N2 cleavage have led to many interesting results. For an early review of molly trisanilide chemistry, see: Chem. Commun., 1998, 1777-1786.