Synthesis of a High-Valent, Four-Coordinate Manganese Cubane Cluster with a Pendant Mn Atom: Photosystem II-Inspired Manganese–Nitrogen Clusters

High-valent, four-coordinate manganese imido- and nitrido-bridged heterodicubane clusters have been prepared and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic techniques. The title compound, a corner-nitride-fused dicubane with the chemical formula [Mn5Li3(μ6-N)­(N)­(μ3-NtBu)6(μ-NtBu)3(NtBu)] (1), has been prepared as an adduct with a nearly isostructural tetramanganese cluster with one Mn atom replaced by Li. An important feature of the reported chemistry is the formation of nitride from tert-butylamide, indicative of N–C bond cleavage facilitated by manganese.