Laser Flash Photolysis of Phosphine-Substituted Dimanganese Carbonyl Compounds

There has been considerable interest in the photochemical reaction of metal-metal bonded dimetal carbonyls, L(OC)4M-M(CO)4L. Two primary processes, (1) metal-metal bond homolysis to produce radical fragments and (2) CO dissociation without metal-metal bond cleavage, were well established in the cases of M = Mn, L = CO (Yesaka 1981, 1983; Rothberg 1982; Hepp 1983; Church 1984) and M=Re, L=CO (Yasufuku 1984). The ratio of the processes (1)/(2) and the effect of irradiation wavelength were evaluated for M=Mn, L=CO (Kobayashi 1985).