The new complex, K
3[Os(CN)
5NH
3]·2H
2O, a convenient precursor for the pentacyano-L-osmate(II) series, was preparedand characterized by chemical analysis, cyclic voltammetry, and IR and UV-vis spectroscopies. By controlledaquation in weakly acidic medium, the [Os(CN)
5H
2O]
3- ion was generated. Weak absorptions in the UV region forL = H
2O, NH
3, and CN
- were found at 287, 272, and 240 nm, respectively, and were assigned to d-d transitions,in terms of a model for tetragonally distorted ions also valid for the members of the iron and ruthenium series. Thekinetics of the formation and dissociation reactions of the [Os(CN)
5L]
n- ions, L = pyridine (py), pyrazine (pz),
N-methylpyrazinium (mpz
+), etc., were studied. At 25.0
C, the formation rate constants for the neutral ligands pzand isonicotinamide were ca. 0.13 M
-1 s
-1 and slightly increased for L = mpz
+ and decreased for isonicotinate.The enthalpies of activation were ca. 22.0 kcal mol
-1, independently of the entering L, and the activation entropieswere all positive, ca. 11-13 cal K
-1 mol
-1. The dissociation reactions showed a saturation rate behavior of
kobs(s
-1) as a function of the concentration of the scavenger ligand. The specific dissociation rate constant at 25.0
Cwas 1.06 × 10
-7 s
-1 for L = NH
3 and around 10
-9 s
-1 for py, pz, and mpz
+ (extrapolated to 25.0
C from valuesmeasured in the range 60-95
C). These small values are associated with high activation enthalpies (range 30-35kcal mol
-1) and positive activation entropies (range 10-20 cal K
-1 mol
-1). The evidence for both the formationand dissociation processes shows that dissociative mechanisms are operative, as for the iron and rutheniumanalogues.