STEPWISE OXIDATION OF BENZYLAMINE COORDINATED TO THE [TP'W(CO)(PHC(2)ME)](+) MOIETY

Coordination of benzylamine to the [Tp'W(CO)(PhC(2)Me)](+) moiety acti vates the amine for stepwise oxidation by sequential hydride/proton re moval steps. Each metal complex along the stepwise reaction path (amin e, amido, imine, azavinylidene, and nitrile) has been isolated and cha racterized. The structure of the imine complex [Tp'W(CO)(PhC(2)Me)(NH double bond CHPh)][BF4] (4) has been confirmed by an X-ray diffraction study. Complex 4 crystallizes in the space group P2(1)/c (Z = 4, a = 13.790(3) Angstrom, b = 13.225(3) Angstrom, c = 19.150(4) Angstrom, be ta = 108.769(1)degrees, R = 3.5%, R(w) = 4.4%), and key geometric feat ures include a W-N dative bond length of 2.135(6) Angstrom to the imin e nitrogen and a W-N-C angle of 129.7(5).