Synthesis, optical nonlinearity and crystal structure of a novel mixed-chalcogen, thiolato-bridged complex [(η5-C5H5)2Mo2(μ-S)(μ-Te)(μ-SPh)2]

A novel dimolybdenum complex in which the metal atoms are bridged by two different chalcogens and two thiolato ligands has been synthesised and structurally characterised. This complex shows a large third-order optical nonlinearity as measured by degenerate four-wave mixing with picosecond excitation at 532 nm. A hyperpolarisability (γ) of 1.2×10−30 esu has been obtained. The structure of the complex was established by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction method. It consists of a Mo–Mo unit, which is bridged by one S, one Te and two (SPh) groups. Each Mo atom also has a (η5-C5H5) group attached to it.