Si-H activation in triethyl- and triarylsilanes by a square-planar pyridine-diimine iridium complex with a terminal nitrido unit leads to the corresponding silyl amido complexes, which were unambiguously characterized by X-ray crystallography. Based on detailed combined kinetic and theoretical studies (DFT), direct addition of the Si-H bond to the iridium nitrido unit is proposed. The electronic propensities of the transition states for the Si-H activation were probed with a Hammett series of para-substituted triarylsilanes HSi(C6H5)2(4-C6H4-X). Based on the combination of experimental and theoretical studies, two independent pathways for this process are proposed, which point toward an ambiphilic propensity of the nitrido unit. Alternative pathways and the charge transfer in the transition states were also investigated. Furthermore, the barriers for the related H-H and C-H activation processes in dihydrogen and methane were analyzed.
