A paramagnetic precursor for polymeric supramolecular assemblies based on multiply bonded dimetal units: μ‐acetato‐aceto­nitrile­tris(μ‐N,N′‐di­phenyl­formamidinato)­di­ruthenium tetra­fluoro­borate di­chloro­methane hemisolvate

The title compound, Ru₂(C₁₃H₁₁N₂)₃(C₂H₃O₂)(C₂H₃N)]BF₄·0.5CH₂Cl₂ or Ru₂(μ‐DPhF)₃(μ‐O₂CMe)(MeCN)]BF₄·0.5CH₂Cl₂, where DPhF is N,N′‐diphenyl­formamidinate, crystallized as dark‐blue block‐shaped crystals. In the unit cell, the diruthenium cation lies on a general position, and the BF₄⁻ anions reside on two independent special positions with crystallographic twofold symmetry. Disorder was observed for one of the phenyl groups in the formamidinate ligand, the axial aceto­nitrile mol­ecule and the interstitial di­chloro­methane mol­ecule. The compound, which exhibits a long Ru—Ru bond of 2.4131 (5) Å, is the first {Ru₂}⁵⁺ formamidin­ate species that is both equatorially and axially functionalized so that it can be used as a precursor for polymeric paramagnetic supramolecular assemblies.