Effect of the counter anion and solvate on the structure, stability and spectral properties of a ruthenium(II) complex containing group 15 donors and 2,2′ :6′,2′′-terpyridine

Abstract

Ruthenium complexes [Ru(κ³−tpy)(AsPh₃)₂C1]PF₆ • 0.42H₂O (tpy =2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine) (1) and a new crystal form of [Ru(κ³−tpy)(AsPh₃)₂Cl]BF₄ (2), which crystallized without water solvate, and their comparative studies on spectral, structure and stability aspects are reported. The complexes have been characterized by elemental analyses, FAB-MS, i.r., ¹H n.m.r. and electronic spectral studies. In these complexes weak C—H•••F… and face-to-face …–… interactions lead to a single helical motif while, C—H•••FX (X=F, Cl) interactions result in linear chains. Various studies on the stability of the complexes suggested that the compound containing the counter anion PF₆^- is more stable than the other containing BF₄^- as the counterpart.