Tribridged diruthenium complexes: a new structural motif

Abstract

Dinuclear complexes containing a (μ-oxo)bis(μ-carboxylato) diruthenium (III) core have been prepared by a novel synthetic route using metal-metal bonded diruthenium(II, III) tetracarboxylates as precursors. The complexes have been structurally characterized and they are redox active. The terminal ligands play an important role in tuning the electronic structure of the core. The stability of the core is found to be dependent on the size and π-acidic nature of the terminal ligand cis- to the μ-oxo ligand. The chemistry of such tribridged complexes is relatively new. The rapid growth of this chemistry is based on the discovery of similar core structures in several non-heme iron-and manganese-containing metalloproteins. The tribridged core presents a new structural motif in coordination chemistry. The chemistry of diruthenium complexes with a [Ru₂(μ-O)(μ-O₂CR)₂²⁺ ] core has been reviewed.