Unusual ruthenium hydride complexes supported by the [N(2-PPh2-4-Me-C6H3)2] pincer ligand

Complexes of Ru(II) containing the pincer ligand [−N(2-PPh2-4-Me-C6H3)2] (PNPPh) were prepared. The complex (PNPPhH)RuCl2 (1) was treated with 2 equiv AgOTf to produce the triflate complex (PNPPhH)Ru(OTf)2 (2). Complex 1 was also treated with an excess of NaBH4 to give a bimetallic complex [(PNPPh)RuH3]2 (3). A number of methods, including X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, and computational studies, were used to probe the structure of 3. Addition of Lewis bases to 3 resulted in octahedral complexes containing a hydride ligand trans to a dihydrogen ligand.