Electrochemical reduction of dimanganese decacarbonyl and dirhenium decacarbonyl

The electrochemical reduction of Mn₂(CO)₁₀ and Re₂(CO)₁₀ at mercury electrodes has been studied in organic solvents by classical polarography, coulometry, chronopotentiometry and cyclic voltammetry. The mechanism is electrochemical—chemical and the kinetic parameters of the electrochemical step are given. The reduction products are identified as clusters of manganese and rhenium carbonyls by ir spectroscopy and proton NMR spectroscopy.