A modular approach to luminescent dinuclear ruthenium(II) and rhenium(I) complexes

A series of dinuclear (bipyridine)tricarbonylrhenium(I) and tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) complexes have been isolated and characterised, bridged by a flexible diamido ethylene glycol chain. A new stepwise synthetic pathway has been investigated to heterometallic complexes, with the rhenium(I) complexes exhibiting an unusual configuration and inequivalence of the metal centres potentially arising from a surprising hydrogen-bonding interaction between an Re–CO group and an amide proton in low-polarity solvents. This interaction appears to be broken by competing hydrogen-bonding species such as dihydrogen phosphate. This effect was not observed in the corresponding ruthenium(II) complexes, which showed very little interaction with anions. The photophysical characterisation shows that the inclusion of two ester/amide groups to the rhenium centre effectively quenches the fluorescence at room temperature. The ruthenium(II) complexes have considerably stronger fluorescence than the rhenium species, and are less affected by theinclusion of ester and amide groups to the 2,2'-bipyridine chelating group.

The comparison of fac and mer ruthenium(II) trischelate complexes in anion binding

The synthesis of three new homoleptic trischelate ruthenium( II) complexes bearing new 2,2'-bipyridine ligands, 5,5'-dibenzylamido-2,2'-bipyridine (L1) and 5-benzylamido-2,2'- bipyridine (L2) has been achieved. In the case of [Ru(L2)(3)](2+), the mer and fac isomers have been separated. H-1 NMR spectroscopic anion binding studies indicate that the two C-3-symmetric pockets provided by [ Ru(L1)(3)](2+) is conducive to receive a range of anions, although this is not readily reflected in the photophysical behaviour. The fac-isomer of [Ru(L2)(3)](2+) does appear to have an enhancement in the binding interactions over the mer form with dihydrogenphosphate salts, although the difference is much less marked with the spherical chloride ions. From X-ray crystallographic evidence, the ability to hold water in the "anion" binding cleft can inhibit the strength of the interactions with anions, giving rise to the observed selectivity for directional oxoanions such as dihydrogen phosphate.

Thermotropic Ruthenium(II)-Containing Metallomesogens Based on Substituted 1,10-Phenanthroline Ligands

Imidazo[4,5-f]-1,10-phenanthroline and pyrazino[2,3-f]-1,10-phenanthroline substituted with long alkyl chains are versatile ligands for the design of metallomesogens because of the ease of ligand substitution. Whereas the ligands and the corresponding rhenium(I) complexes were not liquid-crystalline, mesomorphism was observed for the corresponding ionic ruthenium(II) complexes with chloride, hexafluorophosphate, and bistriflimide counterions. The mesophases were identified as smectic A phases by high-temperature small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) using synchrotron radiation. The transition temperatures depend on the anion, the highest temperatures being observed for the chloride salts and the lowest for the bistriflimide salts. The ruthenium(II) complexes are examples of luminescent ionic liquid crystals.

New ruthenium(II) complexes of functionalized monoanionic aryldiamine N,C,N'-terdentate ligands: Syntheses of [Ru-II{2,6-(Me(2)NCH(2))(2)-4-R-C6H2}(terpy)]Cl+(-); X-ray structure of a dimeric organolithium compound,[Li{2,6-(Me(2)NCH(2))(2)-4-Ph-C6H2}](2)

The new anionic functionalized aryldiamine ligands [2,6-(Me(2)NCH(2))(2)-4-R-C6H2](-) (R = Me(3)SiC=C, C6H5, Me(3)Si), formally derived from [2,6-(Me(2)NCH(2))(2)C6H3](-), have been prepared as their lithium compounds. The compound [Li{2,6-(Me(2)NCH(2))(2)-4-Ph-C6H2}](2) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c (no. 15) with a = 13.1225(5), b = 13.5844(7), c = 15.9859(12) Angstrom, beta = 105.329(5)degrees, V = 3264.0(3)Angstrom(3), Z = 4. The structure refinement converged to R(1) = 0.0374 for 2037 observed reflections [F-o>4 sigma(F-o)] and wR(2) = 0.0922 for 2560 unique data. The organolithium compounds have been used in transmetalation reactions to give the corresponding functionalized organoruthenium(II) complexes [Ru-II{2,6-(Me(2)NCH(2))(2)-4-R-C6H2}(terpy)]Cl-+(-) (terpy = 2,2';6',2 ''-terpyridine). The Ru-II species with R = HC = C has also been synthesized.

Structural and kinetic studies of spin crossover in an Iron(II) complex with a novel tripodal ligand

Configurational and ligand conformational influences on the kinetics of (1)A(1) reversible arrow T-5(2) spin crossover in the Fe(II) complex with the novel tripodal ligand, 1,1,1-tris((N-(2-pyridylmethyl)-N-methylamino)methyl)ethane (tptMetame), have been explored. Despite having six chelate rings and three chiral nitrogen atoms, only one enantiomeric pair of isomers, Delta, SSS, and Lambda, RRR, of the complex ion is observed. The conformation of the three rings forming the upper ''cap'' of the complex structure can be assigned delta or lambda with respect to the 3-fold molecular axis. X-ray data at 300 and 153 K, above and below the critical temperature for the spin transition, show that the conformation of the ligand ''cap'' is the same as the absolute configuration of the complex, with the same Lambda lambda(CAP)(or Delta delta(CAP)) combination prevailing for both the LS ((1)A(1)) and HS (T-5(2)) isomers. Molecular mechanics calculations further show that the ligand energy remains lowest for this Lambda lambda(CAP) (or Delta delta(CAP)) combination at all Fe-N distances over the range spanning the LS and HS isomers. Measurements of the spin crossover relaxation time have been carried out in solution over the temperature range 293-170 K. The observed monophasic relaxation traces are also consistent with the absolute configuration of the complex remaining unaltered during the spin crossover.

Resonance-Raman probing of the interaction between dipyridophenazine complexes of ruthenium(II) and DNA

The resonance-Raman spectroscopic technique is an effective probe of the interaction between dipyridophenazine (dppz) complexes of ruthenium(II) and calf-thymus DNA, providing evidence that DNA addition results in changes to electronic transitions of the intercalating dppz ligand in both ground and excited states.

PHOTOPERTURBATION OF THE (1)A-][-(5)T SPIN EQUILIBRIUM IN AN IRON(II) COMPLEX IN SOLUTION VIA LIGAND-FIELD EXCITATION

Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements in the solid state of the bis complex of tris(1-pyrazolyl)-methane with Fe(II), [Fe(tpm)2](ClO4)2, suggest the existence of singlet-quintet spin crossover with the singlet isomer largely favored at room temperature. In acetonitrile solution, measurement of the absorption spectrum as a function of temperature reveals a spin equilibrium with the quintet population varying from ca. 6% at 233 K to ca. 30% at 295 K. When the complex in solution is irradiated with a laser pulse at wavelengths within the ligand field absorption band of the singlet isomer, ground-state depletion occurs within the pulse duration followed by fast recovery to the original absorbance level with a time constant of 25 +/- 5ns. The recovery time is virtually independent of temperature over the range +23 to -43-degrees-C, but the signal:noise ratio of the transient signals increases with decreasing temperature. The effect was observable at several monitoring wavelengths spanning the LF and MLCT absorption regions of the complex but only when the irradiation wavelength fell within the LF absorption region. Irradiation within the MLCT band produced no effect other than that of laser pulse scatter. The observations are interpreted in terms of photoperturbation of the singlet-quintet spin state equilibrium, which in this case occurs solely through excitation in the ligand field absorption region of the complex and is the first reported instance of this type for a spin-crossover complex in solution.

OBSERVATION OF BIPHASIC KINETICS IN LIGHT-INDUCED SPIN-STATE CROSSOVER IN AN IRON(II) COMPLEX IN SOLUTION

Relaxation of the 1A1 half arrow right over half arrow left 5T2 spin equilibrium in acetonitrile of the complex of Fe(II) with the multidentate pyridyl macrocyclic ligand N,N',N''-tris(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclodecane (tp[10]aneN3) after perturbation by a pulsed laser provides the first example of biphasic kinetics for spin crossover in solution with a fast (tau

OXIDATION OF RUTHENIUM(II) TRIS(2,2'-BIPYRIDINE) IONS BY THALLIC IONS IN NITRIC-ACID, MEDIATED BY RUTHENIUM DIOXIDE HYDRATE - AN EXAMPLE OF REVERSIBLE HETEROGENEOUS REDOX CATALYSIS

The kinetics of the oxidation of Ru(bpy)32+ to Ru(bpy)33+ by T13+ ions, catalyzed by a dispersion of RuO2-xH2O in 3 mol dm-3 HNO3, are reported as a function of [Ru(bpy)32+], [Tl3+], [Tl+], [RuO2.xH2O], and temperature. The kinetics of Ru(bpy)32+ oxidation fit an electrochemical model of redox catalysis involving electron transfer between the two electrochemically reversible redox couples, i.e. Ru(bpy)33+/Ru(bpy)32+ and Tl3+/Tl+, mediated by the dispersion of microelectrode particles of RuO2.xH2O. In this model, the rate of reaction is assumed to be controlled by the diffusion of Ru(bpy)32+ toward, and Ru(bpy)33+ away from, the catalyst particles. The Arrhenius activation energy for the catalyzed reaction is 25.9 +/- 0.7 kJ mol-1, and the changes in enthalpy and entropy for the reaction are 36 +/- 2 kJ mol-1 and 127 +/- 6 J mol-1 K-1, respectively. This work describes a rare example of reversible heterogeneous redox catalysis.

Ruthenium(II) bis(terpyridine) electron transfer complexes with alkynyl-ferrocenyl bridges: synthesis, structures, and electrochemical and spectroscopic studies

Two novel alkynyl-bridged symmetric bis-tridentate ligands 1,2-bis(1'-[4'-(2,2':6', 2 ''-terpyridinyl)]-ferrocenyl)ethyne (3a; tpy-Fc-C C-Fc-tpy; Fc = ferrocenyl; tpy = terpyridyl) and 1,4-bis(1'-[4'-(2,2':6', 2 ''-terpyridinyl)]ferrocenyl)-1,3-butadiyne (3b; tpy-Fc-C C-C C-Fc-tpy) and their Ru2+ complexes 6a and 6b have been synthesized and characterized by cyclic voltammetry, UV-vis and luminescence spectroscopy, and in the case of 3b by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Cyclic voltammograms of both compounds, 3a and 3b, display two severely overlapping ferrocene-based oxidative peaks with only one reductive peak. The redox behavior of 6a and 6b is dominated by the Ru2+/Ru3+ redox couple (E-1/2 from 1.33 to 1.34 V), the Fe2+/Fe3+ redox couples (E-1/2 from 0.46 to 0.80 V), and the tpy/tpy(-)/tpy(2-)redox couples (E-1/2 from -1.19 to -1.48 V). The UV-vis spectra of 6a and 6b show absorption bands assigned to the (1)[(d(pi)(Fe))(6)] -> (1)[(d(pi)(Fe))(5)(pi*(Ru)(tpy))(1)] MMLCT transition at similar to 555 nm. Complexes 6a and 6b are luminescent in H2O-CH3CN (4 : 1, v/v) solution at room temperature, and 6b exhibits the strongest luminescence intensity (lambda(em)(max): 710 nm, Phi(em): 2.28 x 10(-4), tau: 358 ns) relative to analogous ferrocene-based bis(terpyridine) Ru(II) complexes reported so far.

Novel ruthenium-terpyridyl complex for direct oxidation of amines to nitriles

High catalytic activity and selectivity has been demonstrated for the oxidation of both aliphatic and aromatic amines to nitriles under benign conditions with dioxygen or air using the Ru2Cl4(az-tpy)(2) complex. The conversion was found to be strongly influenced by the alkyl chain length of the reactant with shorter chain amines found to have lower conversions than those with longer chains. Importantly, by using the ruthenium terpyridine complex functionalized with azulenyl moiety at the 4 position of central pyridine core provided a much higher reactivity catalyst compared with a series of ruthenium terpyridine-based ligand complexes reported. Mechanistic studies using deuterated benzylamine demonstrated the importance of RuOH in this reaction.

Protein destabilisation by ruthenium(II) tris-bipyridine based protein-surface mimetics

Highly functionalised ruthenium(II) tris-bipyridine receptor 1 which acts as a selective sensor for equine cytochrome c (cyt c) is shown to destabilise the native protein conformation by around 25 degrees C. Receptors 2 and 3 do not exert this effect confirming the behaviour is a specific effect of molecular recognition between 1 and cyt c, whilst the absence of a destabilising effect on 60% acetylated cyt c demonstrates the behaviour of 1 to be protein specific. Molecular recognition also modifies the conformational properties of the target protein at room temperature as evidenced by ion-mobility spectrometry (IMS) and accelerated trypsin proteolysis.