Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.38, No.4, 814-817, 1999
Aqueous phosphoester bond cleavage of dimethyl phosphate by Cp2MoCl2: First reported case of hydrolytic cleavage on an unactivated phosphate diester by an organometallic complex
The organometallic compound bis(eta(5)-cyclopentadienyl) molybdenum(IV) dichloride (Cp2MoCl2, Cp = beta(5)-C5H5) promotes the phosphotester bond cleavage of dimethyl phosphate with rate accelerations of 10(4) at pH 4.0. NMR spectral evidence suggests this phosphoester bond cleavage proceeds through a hydrolytic pathway where the aquated Cp2MoCl2 binds to the phosphate diester and then carries out an intramolecular attack with either a Cp2Mo-bound water or hydroxide. This is the first reported case of an organometallic complex that hydrolyzes an unactivated phosphate diester.