Photolysis of Aqueous [Os(NH3)5(N2)]2+. Photoreduction of Coordinated Dinitrogen to Hydrazine as a Model for a New Type of Artificial Photosynthesis?

Dinitrogen coordinated to Os(II) and as a bridging ligand between Os(II) and Os(III) has been shown to undergo a variety of photochemical transformations [1 – 3]. Photoreductions to nitride and photooxidations to nitrite and related photoredox processes take place depending on the reaction conditions. The photolysis of [Os(NH3)5(N2)] in aqueous solution [3] in the presence of oxygen essentially proceeds according to Eq. 1.