'Hemilabile' silyl pincer ligation: platinum group PSiN complexes and triple C-H activation to form a (PSiC)Ru carbene complex

The first example of PSiN mixed-donor silyl pincer ligation is described. Studies involving platinum group metal complexes of [(2-(Bu2PC6H4)-Bu-t)(2-Me2NC6H4)SiMe](-) (Bu-t-PSiN-Me) confirmed that the ligand amino donor is labile. Within the coordination sphere of Ru, Bu-t-PSiN-Me is transformed into a PSiC ligand via multiple C-H bond activation events.