Dinitrogen Activation by a Titanium/Ruthenium Heteromultimetallic Hydride Complex

A titanium/ruthenium heteromultimetallic polyhydride complex [(Cp'Ti)(2)(Cp*Ru)(2)(mu-H)(6)] (3) (Cp' = C5Me4SiMe3, Cp* = C5Me5) was obtained from the reaction of [Cp'Ti(CH2SiMe3)(3)] (1) with [Cp*Ru(mu-H)(4)RuCp*] (2) under H-2. Complex 3 can readily react with N-2 to give an imido/nitrido complex [(Cp'Ti)(2)(Cp*Ru)(2)(mu-NH)(mu-N)(mu-H)(3)] (4) via N-N bond cleavage and N-H bond formation. The result demonstrates that the heteromultimetallic hydride complexes can serve as a platform for dinitrogen activation.