Structural and electrochemical comparison of trinuclear ruthenium oxo clusters [Ru3(OAc)6O(L)3]+and [Ru3(OAc)6O(L)2(CO)] (L = imidazole, benzimidazole, and 4-phenylpyridine)

Abstract

The triruthenium oxo clusters [Ru3(OAc)6O(L)3]+ and [Ru3(OAc)6O(L)2(CO)] possess unique electronic characteristics that vary based on the ligands L. Here we report an investigation of the structural, electrochemical, and optical properties of clusters with imidazole, benzimidazole, and 4-phenylpyridine ligands. The complexes [Ru3(OAc)6O(L)3]+ [1+: L = imidazole (im); 2+: L = benzimidazole (benzim); 3+: L = 4-phenylpyridine (4PP)] and [Ru3(OAc)6O(L)2(CO)] (1-CO and 3-CO) were synthesized by reaction of either [Ru3(OAc)6O(MeOH)3]+ or [Ru3(OAc)6O(MeOH)2(CO)], respectively, with the corresponding heterocycle. We further discovered that [3]OAc could be reduced to the mixed-valence neutral state 3 by refluxing the complex under nitrogen in methanol. Single-crystal X-ray structure analysis of hexa-μ2-acetato-μ3-oxido-tris(1H-imidazole)triruthenium hexafluorophosphate acetonitrile hemisolvate, [Ru3(C2H3O2)6O(C3H4N2)3]PF6·0.5CH3CN, [1]PF6, hexa-μ2-acetato-carbonylbis(1H-imidazole)-μ3-oxido-triruthenium methanol monosolvate, [Ru3(C2H3O2)6O(C3H4N2)(CO)]·CH3OH, 1-CO, hexa-μ2-acetato-μ3-oxido-tris(4-phenylpyridine)triruthenium pentahydrate, [Ru3(C2H3O2)6O(C11H9N)3]·5H2O, 3, and hexa-μ2-acetato-carbonyl-μ3-oxido-bis(4-phenylpyridine)triruthenium methanol monosolvate, [Ru3(C2H3O2)6O(C11H9N)2(CO)]·CH3OH, 3-CO, show the expected triruthenium μ3-oxo core and N-coordination of the ligands. Cyclic voltammetry revealed quasi-reversible and irreversible redox couples in [1]PF6, 1-CO, and [2]PF6, while [3]PF6 and 3-CO exhibit reversible redox couples. The optical properties of these richly colored species were investigated using UV-Vis spectroscopy.