We report herein the first example of the conversion of metallabenzyne II and isometallabenzene III. The osmium hydride vinylidene complex 1 reacts with HCCCH(OEt)2 to give osmabenzyne 3 via isoosmabenzene 2. Compound 3 exhibits high thermal stability in air. Nonetheless, nucleophilic attack at 3 provides isoosmabenzenes 4 a and 4 b, or opens the ring to produce 5 a and 5 b.

The magic of Os: An unprecedented formal [3+3] cycloaddition reaction of 1 with alkynols affords stable iso-osmabenzenes at room temperature (see scheme). The phosphonium substituent at the Cβ position and the 18e− nature of the compound play key roles in the origin of the high thermal stability of the products. Isomerization of iso-osmabenzenes into η5-cyclopentadienyl complexes through metalated cyclopentadiene intermediates is also described.

Cl prevents insertion: The first metallanaphthalyne 2 has been obtained by Zn reduction of Os carbyne complex 1. The key to its isolation was the use of o-chlorophenyl instead of phenyl substituents to avoid formation of a putative hydrido metallanaphthalyne intermediate (supported by DFT calculations), which undergoes migratory insertion of the carbyne into the OsH bond and rearrangement to give an indenyl complex as the final product.

Treatment of OsHCl(PPh3)(3) with allenes CH2=C=CHR at room temperature in benzene produced the vinyl complexes OsCl(C(CH3)=CHR)(CH2=C=CHR)-(PPh3)(2), instead of eta(3)-allyl complexes as normally observed. DFT calculations show that the formation of the vinyl complex is favored kinetically.