An investigation of the chemistry of the tert-butyl-substituted molybdenocene system, {(Cp Bu t) 2 Mo} (Cp Bu t = C 5 H 4 Bu t ), has demonstrated that the η 2 -acetonitrile ligand in (Cp Bu t ) 2 Mo(η 2 -MeCN) may be alkylated by RI (R = Me, Et) at nitrogen to give iminoacyl derivatives, [(Cp Bu t ) 2 Mo(η 2 -MeC᎐ ᎐ NR)] ϩ , which is a new type of reactivity for mononuclear acetonitrile complexes. A series of chalcogenolate-hydride complexes (Cp Bu t ) 2 Mo(EPh)H (E = S, Se, Te) have been obtained by reaction of (Cp Bu t ) 2 MoH 2 with Ph 2 E 2 , and may be alkylated by MeI to give the chalcogenoether adducts [(Cp Bu t ) 2 Mo(PhEMe)H]I. Dynamic NMR studies on [(Cp Bu t ) 2 Mo(PhEMe)H]ϩ indicate that the barrier to inversion at the chalcogen increases in the sequence S < Se < Te. The oxo complex (Cp Bu t ) 2 MoO reacts with 2 equivalents of Me 3 SiX (X = Cl, Br, I, O 2 CMe, O 3 SMe) to yield (Cp Bu t) 2 MoX 2 ; for X = CN and NCS, (Cp Bu t ) 2 -Mo(OSiMe 3 )X, the product of reaction with 1 equivalent may be isolated. (Cp Bu t) 2 Mo(OSiMe 3 )X (X = CN, NCS) reacts with Me 3 SiNCS to give the thiocyanate complex (Cp Bu t ) 2 Mo(SCN)X, rather than the isocyanate isomer, (Cp Bu t) 2 Mo(NCS)X, thereby indicating that the reactions do not involve a simple metathesis of the Si-NCS bond. Other complexes that are reported include: