Half sandwich platinum group metal complexes containing tetradentate N-donor ligand bearing two pyrazolyl-pyridine units linked by an aromatic spacer

Reaction of the bis-bidentate ligand, 1,3-bis((3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)methyl)benzene (NN∩NN), containing two chelating pyrazolyl-pyridine units connected by an aromatic spacer with platinum group metal complexes results in a series of cationic binuclear complexes, [(η6-arene)2Ru2(NN∩NN)Cl2]2+ (arene = C6H6, 1; p-iPrC6H4Me, 2; C6Me6, 3), [(η5-C5Me5)2M2(NN∩NN)Cl2]2+ (M = Rh, 4; Ir, 5), [(η5-C5H5)2M2(NN∩NN)(PPh3)2]2+ (M = Ru, 6; Os, 7), [(η5-C5Me5)2Ru2(NN∩NN)(PPh3)2]2+ (8) and [(η5-C9H7)2Ru2(NN∩NN)(PPh3)2]2+ (9). All these complexes have been isolated as their hexafluorophosphate salts and fully characterized by use of a combination of NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The solid state structures of three complexes, [2][PF6]2, [4][PF6]2 and [6][PF6]2, has been determined by X-ray crystallographic studies.