Solid‐State and Solution Structures of [{NW(OC(CH₃)₂CF₃)₃}₃] and Factors Favoring the Metathesis of CN and WW Triple Bonds in Reactions Involving Organic Nitriles and Ditungsten Hexaalkoxides

A planar W3N3 ring showing marked alternation in the bond lengths (structures shown on the right) is the distinctive structural element in the trimeric tungsten nitride 1 (R = C(CH3)2CF3), which was obtained by reaction of the alkoxide [W2(OR)6] with benzonitrile. When R = SitBuMe2, a complex is formed in solution with a central W2O2 ring and terminal nitrio ligands.