Strong reducing agents containing dimolybdenum Mo2(4+) units and their oxidized cations with Mo2(5+/6+) cores stabilized by bicyclic guanidinate anions with a seven-membered ring.

The syntheses of two analogues of the bicyclic guanidinate ligand hpp (hpp = the anion of the guanidine-type compound 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2a]pyrimidine) which contain two fused rings are reported. Each compound contains one seven-membered ring while the other is either a five (Htbd) or a six (Htbu) membered ring. In THF/Bu4NPF6, the dimolybdenum compounds Mo2(tbd)4 and Mo2(tbu)4 are easily oxidized and they have signals in the differential pulse voltammograms at -1.059 and -1.009 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), respectively and for the Mo2(5+/6+) couples and in the same order -0.242 and -0.312 V for the Mo2(6+/5+) couples. The two compounds produce the corresponding Mo2(bicyclic guanidinate)4Cl compounds immediately upon dissolution in CH2Cl2 and these easily form species with Mo2(6+) cores. In Mo2(tbd)4Cl there are two crystallographically independent molecules with Mo-Mo distances of 2.1711(7) and 2.1690(7) A. The distance between metal atoms increases to 2.206(1) A upon oxidation to Mo2(tbd)4Cl2 which has a triply bonded Mo2(6+) core. For the diamagnetic compound Mo2(tbu)4 this distance is 2.0677(9) A and it increases to 2.133(2) A upon reduction of the bond order from 4 to 3.5 in the paramagnetic compound Mo2(tbu)4Cl.