Jiaxin Wang, Bingjie Fu, Yue Zhao, Wenfeng Jiang, Wei Bai
Only half-sandwich ruthenacyclopentatrienes have been reported to date, and their (anti)aromaticity remains unverified. Herein, we synthesize and characterize novel ruthenacyclopentatrienes adopting an octahedral geometry, which are antiaromatic. The reactivity of the ruthenacyclopentatrienes towards 1-hexyne and reductants has been investigated. One-electron reduction with NaBH4 produces a dihydridoborate-ruthenacyclopentatrienyl radical exhibiting NIR-I/NIR-II absorption.