The reaction of [Mo
3S
4(H
2O)
9]
4+ (
1) with [(Cp*RhCl
2)
2] afforded a novel rhodium-molybdenum cluster, [{Mo
3RhCp*S
4(H
2O)
7(O)}
2]
8+ (
2). X-ray structure analysis of [
2](pts)
8·14H
2O (pts
- = CH
3C
6H
4SO
3-) has revealed the existenceof a new oxo-bridged twin cubane-type core, (Mo
3RhCp*S
4)
2(O)
2. The high affinity of the Cp*Rh group for sulfuratoms in
1 seems to be the main driving force for this reaction. The strong Lewis acidity of the Cp*Rh group inintermediate
A, [Mo
3RhCp*S
4(H
2O)
9]
6+, caused a release of proton from one of the water molecules attached tothe molybdenum atoms to give intermediate
B, [Mo
3RhCp*S
4(H
2O)
8(OH)]
5+. The elimination of two water moleculesfrom two intermediate
B molecules, followed by the deprotonation reaction of hydroxo bridges, generated the twincubane-type cluster
2. The formal oxidation states of rhodium and molybdenum atoms are the same before andafter the reaction (i.e., Mo(IV)
3, Rh(III)). The Mo-O-Mo moieties in [
2](pts)
8·14H
2O are nearly linear with a bondangle of 164.3(3)
, and the basicity of the bridging oxygen atoms seems to be weak. For this reason, protonationat the bridging oxygen atoms does not occur even in a strongly acidic aqueous solution. The binding energy valuesof Mo 3d
5/2, Rh 3d
5/2, and C 1s obtained from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements for [
2](pts)
8·14H
2Oare 229.8, 309.3, and 285 eV, respectively. The XPS measurements on the Rh 3d
5/2 binding energy indicate thatthe oxidation state of Rh is 3+. The binding energy of Mo 3d
5/2 (229.8 eV) compares with that observed for[
1](pts)
4·7H
2O (230.7 eV, Mo 3d
5/2). A lower energy shift (0.9 eV) is observed in the binding energy of Mo 3d
5/2 for[
2](pts)
8·14H
2O. This energy shift may correspond to the coordination of an oxygen atom having a negative chargeto the molybdenum atom.