The electronic structures of molecules of the form Cp*Ru(η5-Pdl) (where Cp* = η5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl and Pdl = 2,4-dimethylpentadienyl and various heteropentadienyl ligands, including the azapentadienyl ligand 1-tert-butyl-3,5-dimethyl-1-azapentadienyl and the oxopentadienyl ligands 2,4-dimethyl-1-oxopentadienyl and 2,4-di-tert-butyl-1-oxopentadienyl) have been investigated using photoelectron spectroscopy and computational methods. The photoelectron spectra of these half-open metallocenes allow direct insight into the bonding capabilities of pentadienyl ligands and the influences of heteroatom substitution on the electronic structure. The number of separate valence ionization bands that are observed corresponds directly to the number of occupied valence metal d orbitals and highest occupied π orbitals of the Cp* and Pdl ligands plus (in the case of the heteropentadienyl ligands) an ionization that derives from the heteroatom (oxygen or nitrogen) lone pair orbital that is in the plane of the ligan...