Reactivity of [M 2 (μ-Cl) 2 (cod) 2 ] (M=Ir, Rh) and [Ru(Cl) 2 (cod)(CH 3 CN) 2 ] with Na[H 2 B(bt) 2 ]: Formation of Agostic versus Borate Complexes.

Treatment of [M2 (μ-Cl)2 (cod)2 ] (M=Ir and Rh) with Na[H2 B(bt)2 ] (cod=1,5-cyclooctadiene and bt=2-mercaptobenzothiazolyl) at low temperature led to the formation of dimetallaheterocycles [(Mcod)2 (bt)2 ], 1 and 2 (1: M=Ir and 2: M=Rh) and a borate complex [Rh(cod){κ2 -S,S'-H2 B(bt)2 }], 3. Compounds 1 and 2 are structurally characterized metal analogues of 1,5-cyclooctadiene. Metal-metal bond distances of 3.6195(9) Å in 1 and 3.6749(9) Å in 2 are too long to consider as bonding. In an attempt to generate the Ru analogue of 1 and 2, that is [(Rucod)2 (bt)2 ], we have carried out the reaction of [Ru(Cl)2 (cod)(CH3 CN)2 ] with Na[H2 B(bt)2 ]. Interestingly, the reaction yielded agostic complexes [Ru(cod)L{κ3 -H,S,S'-H2 B(bt)2 }], 4 and 5 (4: L=Cl; 5: L=C7 H4 NS2 ). One of the key differences between 4 and 5 is the presence of different ancillary ligands at the metal center. The natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis of 1 and 2 shows that there is four lone pairs of electrons on each metal center with a significant amount of d character. Furthermore, the electronic structures and the bonding of these complexes have been established on the ground of quantum-chemical calculations. All of the new compounds were characterized by IR,1 H,11 B,13 C NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallographic analysis.