Metal complexes organoazide ligands

Metal Complexes with Ligands Bearing a Non-coordinating Organoazide Unit... 

If the metal site of a coordination compound is in a sterically and/or electronically saturated situation, coordination of an organo azide will be hindered and thus metal centred reactivity of the N3-fragment will not occur. If additionally the other ligands coordinated to the metal site are inert against an attack by the organoazide too, no reactivity will be observed at all. There must be a multitude of such intrinsically nonreactive combinations of organoazides and (transition) metal complexes which have not found their way into literature. 

Metal Complexes with an Intact, Coordinating and Linear Organoazide Ligand... 

According to Scheme 12.2 electron transfer from the metal centre to the organoazide will lead to a pronounced deviation from a linear arrangement of the N3-unit. Such systems are better described as metal complexes of diazenylimido ligands. 

---