Molybdenum tetrachloride
Molybdenum tetrachloride is the inorganic compound with the empirical formula MoCl4. The material exists as two polymorphs, a polymeric and a hexameric structures, although neither form is soluble in any solvent without degradation. In each polymorph, the Mo center is octahedral with two terminal chloride ligands and four doubly bridging ligands.
It can be prepared from by dechlorination of molybdenum pentachloride using tetrachloroethene:
The acetonitrile adduct, which is a versatile intermediate, can be prepared directly from the pentachloride:
The MeCN ligands can be exchanged with other ligands:
