Transition-metal-mediated reduction and reversible double-cyclization of cyanuric triazide to an asymmetric bitetrazolate involving cleavage of the six-membered aromatic ring.

Cyanuric triazide reacts with several transition metal precursors, extruding one equivalent of N ₂ and reducing the putative diazidotriazeneylnitrene species by two electrons, which rearranges to N -(1' H -[1,5'-bitetrazol]-5-yl)methanediiminate (biTzI ^2- ) dianionic ligand, which ligates the metal and dimerizes, and is isolated from pyridine as [M(biTzI)] ₂ Py ₆ (M = Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, Ni). Reagent scope, product analysis, and quantum chemical calculations were combined to elucidate the mechanism of formation as a two-electron reduction preceding ligand rearrangement.
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