Synthesis, Crystal Structure and Catalytic Activity of Dioxidomolybdenum(VI) Complex with Tridentate ONO Aroylhydrazone Ligand.

A novel dioxidomolybdenum complex, [MoO(2)L], derived from the tridentate aroylhydrazone 2-amino-N'-(2-hydroxy-3-methylbenzylidene)benzohydrazide (H(2)L), has been prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, (1)H NMR, and single crystal structural X-ray diffraction. The complex has distorted square pyramidal structure in which the aroylhydrazone ligand behaves as a binegative donor one, leaving the amino-N uncoordinated towards the metal center. Single crystal structure analysis reveals that the Mo(VI) center is coordinated by the donor atoms of the binegative aroylhydrazone ligand and two oxido groups. Crystal of the complex is stabilized by hydrogen bonds. The complex functions as an effective olefin epoxidation catalyst with hydrogen peroxide as terminal oxidant and sodium hydrogen carbonate as a co-catalyst.