Synthesis, molecular and electronic structure of complexes [LNaM IV NaL](MRu,Os; H 3 L = 1,4,7-tris(4-tert-butyl-2-mercaptobenzyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononane)

The trinuclear complexes [LNaMIVNaL](M = Ru 1, Os 2) where L represents the hexadentate ligand 1,4,7-tris(4-tert-butyl-2-mercaptobenzyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononane have been synthesized and 1 has been characterized by X-ray crystallography; complex 1 contains an octahedral MIVS6 central core and two trigonal-prismatic terminal LNa units with an N3S3 donor set; the electronic structure of the MIVS6 core (M = Ru, Os), has been established as S= 1 by temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements.