Syntheses of a dinuclear Ir complex containing bridging tetraselenide ligands [(C5Me5)Ir(μ-Se4)2Ir(C5Me5)] and its conversion into Ir2Pd2Se3 and Ir2Pd3Se5 clusters

Treatment of Cp*IrCl(μ-Cl)2IrCp*Cl (Cp* = η5-C5Me5) with Li2Se4 gave a tetraselenide-bridged diiridium complex Cp*Ir(μ-Se4)2IrCp*, which reacted further with two equiv. of Pd(PPh3)4 to afford a mixture of bimetallic tetra- and penta-nuclear selenido clusters (Cp*Ir)2{Pd(PPh3)}2(μ3 -Se)2(μ2-Se) and (Cp*Ir)2{Pd(PPh3)}3(μ3 -Se)3(μ3-Se2).