(Z)-diiodo(2-iodo-2-phenylvinyl)(phenyl)tellurium PhIC=CHTeI2Ph: Synthesis and complexing properties in a reaction with iron pentacarbonyl

Electrophilic addition of PhTeI3 to phenylacetylene (PhC2H) in boiling THF stereoselectively gave (Z)-diiodo(2-iodo-2-phenylvinyl)(phenyl)tellurium PhIC=CHTeI2Ph (I). In a reaction with Fe(CO)5, this complex easily eliminated two iodine atoms from tellurium to give PhTe-CH=CPhI. This ligand was coordinated to iron in a monodentate fashion through the Te atom in the resulting complex (CO)3FeI2(PhTeHC=CPhI) (II). The reaction also yielded the known complex Fe(CO)4I2 (III). The structures of complexes I–III were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The Fe-Te bond in structure II is substantially shortened.