Highly Activated Terminal Carbon Monoxide Ligand in an Iron–Sulfur Cluster Model of FeMco with Intermediate Local Spin State at Fe

Nitrogenases, the enzymes that convert N₂ to NH₃, also catalyze the reductive coupling of CO to yield hydrocarbons. CO-coordinated species of nitrogenase clusters have been isolated and used to infer mechanistic information. However, synthetic FeS clusters displaying CO ligands remain rare, which limits benchmarking. Starting from a synthetic cluster that models a cubane portion of the FeMo cofactor (FeMoco), including a bridging carbyne ligand, we report a heterometallic tungsten–iron–sulfur cluster with a single terminal CO coordination in two oxidation states with a high level of CO activation (ν_CO = 1851 and 1751 cm^–1). The local Fe coordination environment (2S, 1C, 1CO) is identical to that in the protein making this system a suitable benchmark. Computational studies find an unusual intermediate spin electronic configuration at the Fe sites promoted by the presence the carbyne ligand. This electronic feature is partly responsible for the high degree of CO activation in the reduced cluster.