Synthesis and characterisation of bis(2,2′-bipyridine)(4-carboxy-4′-(pyrid-2-ylmethylamido)-2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) di(hexafluorophosphate): Comparison of spectroelectrochemical properties with related complexes

Solution-Based Self-Assembly and Stability of Ruthenium(II) Tris-bipyridyl Monolayers on Gold

Ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes are commonly applied as photosensitizers in the fields of artificial photosynthesis and light harvesting. Their immobilization on gold surfaces is also of interest for sensing and biological applications. Here, we report the self-assembly of [Ru(dmbpy)₂(dcbpy)](PF₆)₂ complexes on gold substrates from solution (dmbpy: 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine; dcbpy: 2,2'-bipyridine-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid). Applying X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we demonstrate the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of the Ru(II) complexes upon loss of counterions with carboxylate groups oriented toward the gold surface. We investigate the stability of the formed SAMs toward the substitution in solvents with competing aliphatic and aromatic thiols such as 4'-nitro[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-thiol, [1,1'-biphenyl]-4-thiol, and 1-hexadecanethiol. We show that the exchange reactions may lead to both complete replacement of the Ru(II) complexes and controlled formation of mixed SAMs. Moreover, we demonstrate that thiol-based SAMs can also be replaced completely from gold via their immersion into solutions of [Ru(dmbpy)₂(dcbpy)](PF₆)₂, indicating a relatively high stability for the Ru(II) complex SAMs. Our findings open up a variety of opportunities for applications of carboxylate-based SAMs on gold in nanotechnology.

Highly efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction by a ruthenium complex sensitizing g-C3N4/MOF hybrid photocatalyst

A ruthenium complex sensitizing g-C₃N₄/MOF hybrid (RuL₂L′@C₃N₄/MOF) was exploited that displayed extremely high photocatalytic performance for the reduction of CO₂ to CO.

Interfacial electron transfer yields in dye-sensitized NiO photocathodes correlated to excited-state dipole orientation of ruthenium chromophores

Interface dynamics of nanocrystalline NiO thin films sensitized with two ruthenium polypyridyl chromophores have been investigated to examine the influence that excited-state dipole orientation and the position of the bipyridine radical formed in the charge-separated state have on interfacial electron transfer yields. In ultrafast transient absorption experiments, the charge separated state is observed on the nanosecond timescale for the trifluoromethyl-substituted chromophore, [Ru(flpy)2(dcb)]2+ (flpy = 4,4′-bis(trifluoromethyl)-2,2′-bipyridine, dcb = 4,4′-dicarboxy-2,2′-bipyridine), but not for [Ru(bpy)2(dcb)]2+ (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine). Differences are attributed to the positioning of the bipyridine radical formed in the charge separated state; for [Ru(flpy)2(dcb)]2+, the electron is localized on the flpy ligand distal to the surface, whereas for [Ru(bpy)2(dcb)]2+, the electron is localized on the dcb ligand, proximal to the NiO surface. Enhanced photovoltaic performance is observed for dye-sensitized solar cell devices prepared with [Ru(flpy)2(dcb)]2+, demonstrating that enhanced charge separation can be correlated with device efficiency.

New amide based iridium(iii) complexes: synthesis, characterization, photoluminescence and DFT/TD-DFT studies

The photophysical properties of new iridium complexes have been investigated depending on various solvents and substituents and DFT/TD-DFT studies have supported observed optical data.

Synergistic oxygen atom transfer by ruthenium complexes with non-redox metal ions

Non-redox metal ions can affect the reactivity of active redox metal ions in versatile biological and heterogeneous oxidation processes; however, the intrinsic roles of these non-redox ions still remain elusive. This work demonstrates the first example of the use of non-redox metal ions as Lewis acids to sharply improve the catalytic oxygen atom transfer efficiency of a ruthenium complex bearing the classic 2,2'-bipyridine ligand. In the absence of Lewis acid, the oxidation of ruthenium(ii) complex by PhI(OAc)2 generates the Ru(iv)[double bond, length as m-dash]O species, which is very sluggish for olefin epoxidation. When Ru(bpy)2Cl2 was tested as a catalyst alone, only 21.2% of cyclooctene was converted, and the yield of 1,2-epoxycyclooctane was only 6.7%. As evidenced by electronic absorption spectra and EPR studies, both the oxidation of Ru(ii) by PhI(OAc)2 and the reduction of Ru(iv)[double bond, length as m-dash]O by olefin are kinetically slow. However, adding non-redox metal ions such as Al(iii) can sharply improve the oxygen transfer efficiency of the catalyst to 100% conversion with 89.9% yield of epoxide under identical conditions. Through various spectroscopic characterizations, an adduct of Ru(iv)[double bond, length as m-dash]O with Al(iii), Ru(iv)[double bond, length as m-dash]O/Al(iii), was proposed to serve as the active species for epoxidation, which in turn generated a Ru(iii)-O-Ru(iii) dimer as the reduced form. In particular, both the oxygen transfer from Ru(iv)[double bond, length as m-dash]O/Al(iii) to olefin and the oxidation of Ru(iii)-O-Ru(iii) back to the active Ru(iv)[double bond, length as m-dash]O/Al(iii) species in the catalytic cycle can be remarkably accelerated by adding a non-redox metal, such as Al(iii). These results have important implications for the role played by non-redox metal ions in catalytic oxidation at redox metal centers as well as for the understanding of the redox mechanism of ruthenium catalysts in the oxygen atom transfer reaction.

Rationalizing the molecular origins of Ru- and Fe-based dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells

As part of an effort to design more efficient dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), structure–property relationships are established in the world's best-performing chemical series of dyes: 2,2′-bipyridyl-4,4′-carboxylatoruthenium(II) complexes. Statistical analysis, based on crystallographic data from the Cambridge Structural Database, is used to determine common structural features and the effects of structural change to its salient molecular constituents. Also included is the report of two new crystal structures for tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)dichlororuthenium(II)hexahydrate and tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)iron(II)dithiocyanate; these add to this statistical enquiry. Results show that the metal (M) core exhibits a distorted octahedral environment with M—N π-backbonding effects affording the propensity of the metal ion towards oxidation. The same characteristics are observed in iron-based analogues. The role of carboxylic groups in this series of dyes is assessed by comparing complexes which contain or are devoid of COOH groups. Space-group variation and large molecular conformational differences occur when COOH groups are present, while such structural features are very similar in their absence. The nature of the anion is also shown to influence the structure of COOH-containing complexes. These structural findings are corroborated by solution-based UV–vis absorption spectroscopy and DSC device performance tests. The presence of COOH groups in this series of compounds is shown to be mandatory for dye-uptake in TiO2 in the DSC fabrication process. Throughout this study, results are compared with those of the world's most famous DSC dye, N3 (N719 in its fully protonated form): cis-bis(isothiocyanato)bis(2,2′-bipyridyl-4,4′-dicarboxylato)ruthenium(II). Overall, the molecular origins of charge-transfer in these complexes are ascertained. The findings have important implications to the materials discovery of more efficient dyes for DSC technology.

(2,2'-Bipyridine-4,4'-dicarb-oxy-lic acid-κN,N')chlorido(2,2':6',2''-terpyridyl-κN,N',N'')ruthenium(II) perchlorate ethanol monosolvate monohydrate

In the title compound, [RuCl(C(15)H(11)N(3))(C(12)H(8)N(2)O(4))]ClO(4)·C(2)H(5)OH·H(2)O, the geometry of the ClN(5) coordination set around the Ru(II) atom is close to octa-hedral, but distorted on account of the limited bite angles of the polypyridyl ligands. The complexes are linked by O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the carboxyl groups and the crystal lattice water mol-ecules into chains along [110]. Face-to-face stacking inter-actions are formed between terpyridine ligands, with inter-planar separations of 3.66 (1) and 3.42 (1) Å, and between bipyridine-4,4'-dicarb-oxy-lic acid ligands, with inter-planar separations of 3.65 (1) and 3.72 (1) Å. Three O atoms of the perchlorate ion are each disordered equally over two positions. The hy-droxy group of the ethanol mol-ecule is also disordered over two sites with refined occupancies of 0.794 (9) and 0.206 (9).

A high molar extinction coefficient mono-anthracenyl bipyridyl heteroleptic ruthenium(II) complex: synthesis, photophysical and electrochemical properties

In our quest to develop good materials as photosensitizers for photovoltaic dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), cis-dithiocyanato-4-(2,3-dimethylacrylic acid)-2,2'-bipyridyl-4-(9-anthracenyl-(2,3-dimethylacrylic)-2,2'-bipyridyl ruthenium(II) complex, a high molar extinction coefficient charge transfer sensitizer, was designed, synthesized and characterized by spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques. Earlier studies on heteroleptic ruthenium(II) complex analogues containing functionalized oligo-anthracenyl phenanthroline ligands have been reported and documented. Based on a general linear correlation between increase in the length of π-conjugation bond and the molar extinction coefficients, herein, we report the photophysical and electrochemical properties of a Ru(II) bipyridyl complex analogue with a single functionalized anthracenyl unit. Interestingly, the complex shows better broad and intense metal-to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) band absorption with higher molar extinction coefficient (λ_max = 518 nm, ε = 44900 M⁻¹cm⁻¹), and appreciable photoluminescence spanning the visible region than those containing higher anthracenyl units. It was shown that molar absorption coefficient of the complexes may not be solely depended on the extended p-conjugation but are reduced by molecular aggregation in the molecules.

Influence of pyridine ligand nature and the corresponding ruthenium(II) dye molecular structure on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells

cis-[Ru(bpy)(2)(L(n))]Cl(2) (n = 1, L(1) = 4-carboxy-2-(2'-pyridyl)quinoline (); n = 2, L(2) = 2,2'-pyridine-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid ()); and cis-[Ru(bpy)(2)(L')(2))]Cl(2) (L' = 4-pyridinecarboxylic acid ()) complexes, with surface anchoring groups, are prepared from the reaction of cis-[Ru(bpy)(2)Cl(2)] () with the appropriate ligand (L(1), L(2), L'). Ion exchange in aqueous solution with NH(4)PF(6) gives the corresponding bis(hexafluorophosphate) derivatives cis-[Ru(bpy)(2)(L(1))](PF(6))(2) (), cis-[Ru(bpy)(2)(L(2))](PF(6))(2) () and cis-[Ru(bpy)(2)(L')(2)](PF(6))(2) (), respectively. The photo-electrochemical properties of the dyes () are investigated and the efficiency of the corresponding dye sensitized solar cells is compared to a N719 sensitized device, under similar fabrication and testing conditions.