“…It can be seen from the above structural analysis of the heterobinuclear LnNi(CO) n – (Ln = La, Ce) carbonyls that the number of extremely activated CO molecule is increased in the larger clusters ( n ≥ 4), evidencing the ligand-enhanced CO activation by the early lanthanide-nickel heterodimers. This is different from the structural evolutions of other homobinuclear, heterobinuclear metal–iron, and metal–nickel carbonyls. − In the Ti 2 (CO) n – ( n = 1–9) clusters, the building block of three side-on-bonded CO molecules is favored for n = 3–5, whereas the motif of two side-on-bonded CO molecules is preferred for n = 6–9, indicating that the number of extremely activated CO molecule is reduced in the larger clusters . In the MNi(CO) n – (M = Ti, Zr, Hf) complexes, the n = 3 cluster is comprised of one terminal, one bridging, and one side-on-bonded carbonyl, whereas the binding motif of three bridging carbonyls is preferred in n = 4–7, also suggesting that the degree of CO activation is reduced in the larger clusters …”