Further studies of tetrakis(N,N′-dialkylbenzamidinato)diruthenium(III) chloro and alkynyl compounds: molecular engineering of metallayne monomers

Three diruthenium(III) compounds Ru2(L)4Cl2, where L is mMeODMBA (N,N′-dimethyl-3-methoxybenzamidinate, 1a), DiMeODMBA (N,N′-dimethyl-3,5-dimethoxy benzamidinate, 1b), or DEBA (N,N′-diethylbenzamidinate, 1c), were prepared from the reactions between Ru2(OAc)4Cl and respective HL under reflux conditions. Metathesis reactions between 1 and LiC2Y resulted in bis-alkynyl derivatives Ru2(L)4(C2Y)2 [Y=Ph (2), SiMe3 (3), SiiPr3 (4) and C2SiMe3 (5)]. The parent compounds 1 are paramagnetic (S=1), while bis-alkynyl derivatives 2–5 are diamagnetic and display well-solved 1H- and 13C-NMR spectra. Molecular structures of compounds 1b, 1c, 2c, 3c and 4b were established through single crystal X-ray diffraction studies, which revealed RuRu bond lengths of ca. 2.32 Å for parent compounds 1 and 2.45 Å for bis-alkynyl derivatives. Cyclic voltammograms of all compounds feature three one-electron couples: an oxidation and two reductions, while the reversibility of observed couples depends on the nature of axial ligands.