Acid–Base Interaction between Transition-Metal Hydrides: Dihydrogen Bonding and Dihydrogen Evolution

Reaction of the acidic tungsten(II) hydride [CpW(H)(CO)3] (2) with the nickel(II) pincer complex [(tBuPCP)Ni(H)] (1) in either THF or toluene after an initial dihydrogen bonding (DHB) interaction led to the formation of the Ni–W bimetallic species [CpW(CO)2(CO)···Ni(tBuPCP)] (3). The first example of DHB between two metal hydrides with opposite polarity was analyzed by NMR and IR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and DFT calculations.