Carbon monoxide is lost upon sodium amalgam reduction of [(OCN)Nb{N(R)
Ar}(3)] [R = C(CD3)(2)CH3, Ar = C6H3Me2-3,5] to give crystallographica
lly characterized [Na{NNb[N(R)Ar](3)}](2), a nucleophilic niobium(v) n
itride which reacts with ClP(NMe2)(2) and O(SO2CF3)(2) to give P- and
S-substituted imido complexes, respectively.