Compromising the metal–metal bond in diruthenium(II,III) tetraacetate: Reaction of [Ru2(μ-O2CMe)4(MeOH)2]+ with phosphines to form ‘Ru(μ-O2CMe)2(μ-OMe)2Ru’ cores

Edge-sharing bi-octahedral diruthenium(IV,IV) compounds containing Ru-Ru bonds chelated and bridged by two carbonate and two oxo groups

From paddle-wheel starting material Na3Ru2(CO3)4·6H2O, a family of edge-sharing bi-octahedral (ESBO) diruthenium(IV,IV) compounds formulated as Ru2O2(CO3)2(H2O)2L2·nH2O [L = piperazine (1) or 2-methylpiperazine (2), n = 4, and L = 2,2-dimethylpiperazine (3), n = 12] and Ru2O2(CO3)2(OH)4{M(H2O)4}2·nH2O [M = Mg (4), n = 4, and Ni (5), n = 2] were prepared and structurally characterized. The Ru28+ dimer is chelated and bridged by two CO32- and two μ-O in a trans manner, and the Ru-Ru distances fall in the range 2.3808(6)-2.4001(4) Å. Compound 2 shows the shortest Ru-Ru distance for all known ESBO Ru2 compounds reported thus far. Increasing -CH3 groups of terminal piperazine ligands coordinated to the Ru(μ-O)2(μ-O3C)2Ru core, and according to Raman spectra experiments combined with theoretical calculations, the intense bands of compounds 1-3 appearing at ∼360 cm-1 can be assigned to the stretching of Ru-Ru bonds.

A family of edge-sharing bi-octahedral diruthenium(III,III) compounds containing Ru-Ru single bonds

From paddlewheel starting reactants Ru₂(R'CO₂)₄⁺, a family of edge-sharing bi-octahedral (ESBO) diruthenium(III,III) compounds has been prepared, formulated as Ru₂(μ-O₂CR')₂(μ-OR)₂(η-L)₂ (1-10) [R' = CH₃, R = CH₃, L = acac (1), tfac (2); R' = CH₃, R = CH₂CH₃, L = hfac (3); R' = CH₂CH₃, R = CH₃, L = acac (4), tfac (5); R' = CH₂CH₃, R = CH₂CH₃, L = hfac (6); R' = CH₂Cl, R = CH₃, L = tfac (7); R' = CH₂Cl, R = CH₂CH₃, L = hfac (8); R' = C₆H₅, R = CH₃, L = tfac (9); and R' = H, R = CH₃, L = acac (10); here, acac, tfac and hfac represent acetylacetone, trifluoroacetylacetone and hexafluoroacetylacetone, respectively]. Compounds 1-10 have a similar ESBO coordination geometry of the Ru(μ-O₂CR')₂(μ-OR)₂Ru core with a Ru-Ru center chelated and bridged by two μ-O₂CR' and two μ-OR in a trans manner, and each Ru center is also coordinated with a η²-L bidentate ligand. The Ru-Ru distances fall in the range of 2.4560(9)-2.4771(4) Å. The investigation of the electronic spectra and vibrational frequencies as well as theoretical studies with density functional theory (DFT) reveal that compounds 1-10 are ESBO bimetallic species of d⁵-d⁵ valence electron counts showing a σ²π²δ²δ*²π*² electronic configuration. Varying -CH₃ to -CF₃ groups on the η²-L bidentate ligands coordinating to the Ru(μ-O₂CR')₂(μ-OR)₂Ru core, and according to Raman spectrum measurements combined with theoretical calculations, the intense bands of compounds 1-10 appearing at ∼345 cm^-1 in the small-wavenumber region can be assigned to the stretching of the Ru-Ru single bond.

Unprecedented metal-metal bonded {Ru4(μ3-O)2} butterfly core in oxido-carboxylato bridged mixed valence cluster-structural elucidation and electronic forms in accessible redox states

Unprecedented metal-metal bonded oxido-carboxylato bridged mixed valence tetraruthenium cluster [(acac)₆Ru(μ₃-O)₂(μ-CH₃COO)₃] 1 (S = 1/2) (acac = acetylacetonate) with {Ru₄(μ₃-O)₂} "butterfly" core has been achieved via the reaction of Ru(acac)₂(CH₃CN)₂ with excess CH₃COONa (Ru : CH₃COONa = 1 : 15) in refluxing EtOH-H₂O (5 : 1). Structural analysis of 1 ascertained a unique Ru-Ru bonded (Ru2-Ru3: 2.5187(6) Å (DFT: 2.560 Å)) {Ru₂(Ru-Ru)(μ₃-O)₂} butterfly core, unlike the reported other Fe₄ or Mn₄ derived "butterfly" core. The connectivity of Ru₄(μ₃-O)₂ core in 1 with three Ru₂(μ-CH₃COO)₃ and two each Ru-(acac)₂/Ru-acac units resulted in interconnected four RuO₆ octahedral entities. The doubly bridged μ₃-O^2- ions of the nearly planar central metal-metal bonded Ru₂O₂ core (Ru2-Ru3, "body" or "hinge") linked to the remaining two "wing-tip" Ru atoms (Ru1 and Ru4). Complex 1 with a S = 1/2 spin state displayed paramagnetically shifted ¹H NMR over a wide chemical shift range in CDCl₃ (δ, 13 to -30 ppm) and a metal based anisotropic EPR (g₁ = 2.17, g₂ = 2.01, g₃ = 1.86; Δg = g₁-g₃ = 0.31 and 〈g〉 = [1/3(g₁² + g₂² + g₃²]^1/2 = 2.01) at 100 K in CH₃CN-toluene. The metal based one-electron reversible oxidation at 0.49 V and reduction at 0.485 V versus SCE of 1 led to the EPR inactive (even at 4 K) spin-coupled Ru^IIIRu^IIIRu^IVRu^IV (S = 0) and Ru^IIIRu^IIIRu^IIIRu^III (S = 0) electronic configurations for 1⁺ and 1^-, respectively. Mixed valence 1 and 1⁺ exhibited low-energy near-infrared (NIR) absorption bands at 1350 nm and 1156 nm, respectively, in CH₃CN. A combined experimental (UV-vis-NIR and EPR spectroelectrochemistry) and theoretical (DFT) analysis indicated a delocalised mixed valence form of 1 ({Ru₂(Ru-Ru)(μ₃-O)₂}).