Various (arene)tricarbonylchromium complexes were synthesized within the confines of NaX zeolite and studied with diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and carbon-13 magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy. In each case, the surface complex Cr(CO)(3)(O-z)(3) (O-z represents a framework oxygen of the NaX zeolite) was prepared before a particular arene was added. The arenes benzene, toluene, mesitylene, anisole, and aniline all produce hexahapto pi-complexes physisorbed within the zeolite supercage. DRIFTS spectra show three bands in the carbonyl region indicating less than C-3v symmetry. The NMR spectra have narrow carbonyl bands near 240 ppm which indicate rapidly reorienting complexes within the zeolite. The (eta(6)-benzene)tricarbonylchromium complex is physisorbed at two sites as indicated both by the DRIFTS spectra and by two carbonyl resonances at 242.5 and 239.1 ppm at 300 K. Variable-temperature MAS NMR shows these two resonances coalescing near 360 K with an activation energy of 48 6 kJ/mol. When the temperature is decreased to 205 K, the high-frequency carbonyl resonance disappears. The 239 ppm resonance is still narrow at 134 K while MAS sidebands show that the resonance from physisorbed benzene is ca. 200 ppm wide. The complex prepared with pyridine gave a broad resonance as indicated by the spinning sidebands in the MAS NMR spectra. The pyridine complex was identified as Cr(CO)(3)(C5H5N)(3).