Novel approach to multimetal metallaborane clusters.: Synthesis of hypoelectronic nido-Cp*3IrRu2B5H9 from the reaction of arachno-Cp*IrB3H9 with nido-(Cp*RuH)2B3H7

Two new mixed-metal metallaborane clusters, Cp*(Ru2IrB5H9)-Ru-3 and Cp*3Ru2IrB5H5, were isolated from the reaction of an iridaborane with a ruthenaborane. The structures show the former to have an unusual nido eight-atom cluster shape with a low electron count and the latter to have the expected bicapped-octahedral geometry.