(µ 2 -η 4 - N -(2-Butynyl)phthalimide)(hexacarbonyl)dicobalt

The reaction of [Co 2 (CO) 8 ] with an equimolar amount of the internal alkyne N -(2-butynyl)phthalimide (1-Phthalimido-2-butyne) 1 in heptane solution yields the title compound [Co 2 (CO) 6 (µ-phthalimidoCH 2 C≡CMe)] 2 . Compound 2 has been characterized using IR, 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopy; the tetrahedrane-type cluster framework has been ascertained using a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study performed at 100 K.