Nitrogen fixation to cyanide at a molybdenum center

Facile methoxymethylation of N(2)-derived nitride NMo(N[(t)Bu]Ar)(3) provided the imido cation [MeOCH(2)NMo(N[(t)Bu]Ar)(3)](+) as its triflate salt in 88% yield. Treatment of the latter with LiN(SiMe(3))(2) provided blue methoxyketimide complex MeO(H)CNMo(N[(t)Bu]Ar)(3) in 95% yield. Conversion of the latter to the terminal cyanide complex NCMo(N[(t)Bu]Ar)(3), which was the subject of a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study, was accomplished in 51% yield upon treatment with a combination of SnCl(2) and Me(2)NSiMe(3).