CO Coupling Chemistry of a Terminal Mo Carbide: Sequential Addition of Proton, Hydride, and CO Releases Ethenone

The mechanism originally proposed by Fischer and Tropsch for carbon monoxide (CO) hydrogenative catenation involves C-C coupling from a carbide-derived surface methylidene. A single molecular system capable of capturing these complex chemical steps is hitherto unknown. Herein, we demonstrate the sequential addition of proton and hydride to a terminal Mo carbide derived from CO. The resulting anionic methylidene couples with CO (1 atm) at low temperature (-78 °C) to release ethenone. Importantly, the synchronized delivery of two reducing equivalents and an electrophile, in the form of a hydride (H^- = 2e^- + H⁺), promotes alkylidene formation from the carbyne precursor and enables coupling chemistry, under conditions milder than those previously described with strong one-electron reductants and electrophiles. Thermodynamic measurements bracket the hydricity and acidity requirements for promoting methylidene formation from carbide as energetically viable relative to the heterolytic cleavage of H₂. Methylidene formation prior to C-C coupling proves critical for organic product release, as evidenced by direct carbide carbonylation experiments. Spectroscopic studies, a monosilylated model system, and Quantum Mechanics computations provide insight into the mechanistic details of this reaction sequence, which serves as a rare model of the initial stages of the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.