Reactions of a Ruthenium(VI) Nitride with Rhodium(III) and Iridium(III) Aryl Complexes. Insertion of the RuN Group into the Rh–C Bonds of Trimesitylrhodium(III)

The reaction of the RuVI nitride LOEtRuVI(N)­Cl2 (1; LOEt– = [Co­(η5-C5H5)­{P­(O)­(OEt)2}3]−) with RhIII(mes)3 (mes = mesityl) results in insertion of the RuN group into the Rh–C bonds and formation of trinuclear (LOEt)­ClRuIV(μ-Cl)­(μ-2-CH2-4,6-Me2C6H2N)­RhIII(μ-Nmes)­(μ-Cl)2RuIV(LOEt) (2), containing a cyclometalated μ-mesitylimido ligand, whereas that with IrIII(dtbpy)­R3 gives the μ-nitrido complexes (dtbpy)­R3IrIII(μ-N)­RuIVCl2(LOEt) (dtbpy = 4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridyl; R = 2,5-dimethylphenyl (3), 4-methoxy-2-methylphenyl (4)). The crystal structures of 2 and 4 have been determined.