Hexa(tert-butoxy)dimolybdenum(III) is a coordination complex of molybdenum(III). It is one of the homoleptic alkoxides of molybdenum. An orange, air-sensitive solid, the complex has attracted academic attention as the precursor to many organomolybdenum derivatives. It an example of a charge-neutral complex featuring a molybdenum to molybdenum triple bond (Moâ¡Mo), arising from the coupling of a pair of d<sup>3</sup> metal centers. It can be prepared by a salt metathesis reaction from the THF complex of molybdenum trichloride and lithium tert-butoxide:
The complex and its ditungsten (W<sub>2</sub>) analogue adopt an ethane-like geometry. The metal to metal bond distance is 222 pm in the related complex Mo<sub>2</sub>(OCH<sub>2</sub>CMe<sub>3</sub>)<sub>6</sub>.