While the dinuclear compounds [(
6-mes)Os{
1-OC(O)CF
3}(
-Cl)]
2 (
2) and [(
6-mes)Os{
1-OS(O)
2CF
3}(
-Cl)]
2 (
3), prepared from [(
6-mes)OsCl(
3-C
3H
5)] (
1) and CF
3CO
2H or CF
3SO
3Hby elimination of propene, are not suitable precursors for the synthesis of osmium carbenes,the bis(trifluoroacetato) derivatives [(
6-arene)Os{
1-OC(O)CF
3}(
2-O
2CCF
3)] (
4,
9,
10) areuseful starting materials. They react with diaryldiazomethanes R
2CN
2 to give the half-sandwich-type complexes [(
6-arene)Os{
1-OC(O)CF
3}
2(=CR
2)] (
11-
17) in good to excellentyields. The bis(tosylato)osmium(II) compounds [(
6-arene)Os{
1-OS(O)
2R}{
2-O
2S(O)R}] (
20,
21; R =
p-C
6H
4CH
3) behave differently and upon treatment with Ph
2CN
2 and PhCHN
2 affordtetraphenylethene and a mixture of (
E)- and (
Z)-stilbene. The reaction of
12-
15 and
17with either Me
3SiX or NH
4X (X = Cl, Br, I) leads to the replacement of the trifluoroacetatoligands and the formation of the corresponding carbene complexes [(
6-arene)OsX
2(=CR
2)](
22-
31) in 67-91% yield. An exchange of trifluoroacetate for chloride or bromide by usingHCl or HBr is also possible. Treatment of [(
6-mes)OsCl
2(=CPh
2)] (
28) with M(acac-[F
n]) (M= Na, Tl;
n = 0, 3, or 6) affords the chelate compounds [(
6-mes)OsCl(
2-acac-[F
n])] (
33-
35)via elimination of the carbene ligand. Compounds
33-
35 are also accessible from [(
6-mes)OsCl
2]
2 (
19) and Hacac/NEt
3 or Na(acac-[F
n]) (
n = 3 or 6), respectively. While
14 (arene =mes; R = Ph) and
28 react with C
6H
5MgBr and CH
3MgI only by displacement oftrifluoroacetate or chloride for bromide or iodide, the reaction of
14 with CH
2=CHMgBrgives the
3-allyl complex [(
6-mes)OsBr(
3-CH
2CHCPh
2)] (
36). A C-C coupling also takesplace upon treatment of
14 with CH
2=CHOEt, resulting in the formation of the metallacycliccompound [(
6-mes)Os{
2(
C,
O)-Ph
2CCH=CH
OEt}{
1-OC(O)CF
3}] (
38). The bis(trifluoroacetato) derivatives
14,
15, and
17 react in acetone with water to afford the diaryl(carbonyl)osmium(II) complexes [(
6-mes)OsR
2(CO)] (
39-
41). On the basis of a labeling experiment,a mechanism for this unusual C-C cleavage reaction is proposed. The reaction of the dichlorocompounds
28 and
29 with PPh
3 in the presence of AgPF
6 gives the cationic carbenecomplexes [(
6-mes)OsCl(PPh
3)(=CR
2)]PF
6 (
45,
46) in nearly quantitative yields. Themolecular structures of
2,
15,
28,
35, and
46 were determined crystallographically.