ISSN 1070-3632, Russian Journal of General Chemistry, 2010, Vol. 80, No. 12, pp. 2466–2469. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2010. Original Russian Text © E.V. Ilyakina, O.G. Mishchenko, A.V. Piskunov, A. V. Maleeva, S.V. Maslennikov, I.V. Spirina, V.P. Maslennikov, Yu.A. Kurskii, 2010, published in Zhurnal Obshchei Khimii, 2010, Vol. 80, No. 12, pp. 2004–2007. 2466 Special Features of Photolytic Transformation of Tin Heteropolymetallic Catecholate Complexes E. V. Ilyakina a , O. G. Mishchenko a , A. V. Piskunov b , A. V. Maleeva b , S. V. Maslennikov a , I. V. Spirina a , V. P. Maslennikov †a , and Yu. A. Kurskii b a Research Institute of Chemistry, Lobachevskii State University, pr. Gagarina 23, korp. 5, Nizhnii Novgorod, 603950 Russia e-mail: spirina@ichem.unn.ru b Razuvaev Institute of Organometallic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhnii Novgorod, Russia Received January 14, 2010 Abstract―The photolysis of bis(dicarbonylcyclopentadienyliron)(3,6-di-tert -butylcatecholato)tin(IV), bis(dicarbonyl- cyclopentadienylmolybdenum)(3,6-di-tert-butylcatecholato)tin(IV), and bis(dicarbonylcyclopentadienyltun- sten)(3,6-di-tert-butylcatecholato)tin(IV) in solutions of saturated hydrocarbons was studied. Kinetic param- eters of the transformation of these compounds under the action of a monochromatic radiation with a wavelength of 313 nm were determined. Products of their transformation formed in the course of the irradiation were identified, and the probable mechanism of their photodecomposition was proposed. † Deceased. The photochemistry of compounds containing several metal centers of different nature in their mole-cules are intensive studied. The complexes R 2 E[M(CO) n Cp] 2 (R = alkyl, phenyl; Е = Si, Ge, Sn, Pb; M = Fe, Mo, W) draw special attention, because products of their photolysis represent compounds containing a bridging carbonyl or an R 2 E group along with a bond between transition metals [1–3]. However, no information on the reaction routes and products of photolytic transformations of such compounds containing a catecholate ligand was reported earlier. Objects of the present work are complex compounds bis(dicarbonylcyclopentadienyliron)(3,6- di-tert-butylcatecholato)tin(IV) (I), bis(dicarbonyl- cyclopentadienylmolybdenum)(3,6-di-tert-butylcate- cholato)tin(IV) (II), and bis(dicarbonylcyclopentadi- enyltungsten)(3,6-di-tert-butylcatecholato)tin(IV) (III). Electronic spectra of solutions of compounds I–III in saturated hydrocarbons contain absorption bands with maxima in the region of 332 (log ε 4.17), 305 (log ε 4.4), and 291 nm (log ε 4.31), respectively. The UV irradiation of diluted solutions of the complexes with concentrations (0.2–1.0)×10 –4 M was carried out at the wavelength of 313 nm. In the course of the photolysis optical density of the systems in the region of the maximal absorption decreased (Fig. 1), and carbon monoxide was evolved with the yield of 1 mol/mol of the transformed compound. The substrate consumption and gas accumulation during the irradiation of solutions of the complexes under study (Fig. 2) obey a rate equation of a first-order reaction. Quantum yield of the photolysis of complexes I–III in parrafins does not depend on the initial concentration of used solutions in the range of (0.2– 1.0)×10 –4 M and on the intensity of initiating radiation with the wavelength of 313 nm within the limits of (0.2–5.3)×10 17 quant s –1 l –1 (see the table). Products of the phototransformation of the complexes were synthesized at the irradiation of more concentrated solutions in hexane (~10 –3 M) by light with λ 313 nm within 100 h. Color of solutions of complexes I–III varied from red up to pale yellow, DOI: 10.1134/S107036321012011X O Sn O M(CO) n Cp M(CO) n Cp I-III M = Fe (I), n = 2; M = Mo (II), W = (III), n = 3.