Mixed-chalcogenide double-butterfly complex [{(CO)(6)Fe2SSe}(2){mu-C(H)-C(H)}]

Bubbling acetylene gas slowly through a methanol solution of [(CO)(6)Fe-2{mu-SSe}] containing sodium acetate for 48 h at room temperature yields the double-butterfly complex mu-[ethane-1,1,2,2-tetra(selenido/sulfido)]bis[hexacarbonyldiiron(Fe - Fe)], [Fe-4(C2H2S2Se2)(CO)(12)]. The molecular structure was established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. The structure consists of two Fe2SSe butterfly units linked to each other through a bridging HC-CH group. The molecule has twofold symmetry and the two Fe atoms have distorted octahedral geometries