Direct Characterization of a Reactive Lattice-Confined Ru2 Nitride by Photocrystallography

Reactive metal–ligand (M–L) multiply bonded complexes are ubiquitous intermediates in redox catalysis and have thus been long-standing targets of synthetic chemistry. The intrinsic reactivity of mid-to-late M–L multiply bonded complexes renders these structures challenging to isolate and structurally characterize. Although synthetic tuning of the ancillary ligand field can stabilize M–L multiply bonded complexes and result in isolable complexes, these efforts inevitably attenuate the reactivity of the M–L multiple bond. Here, we report the first direct characterization of a reactive Ru2 nitride intermediate by photocrystallography. Photogeneration of reactive M–L multiple bonds within crystalline matrices supports direct characterization of these critical intermediates without synthetic derivatization.