Synthesis and Reactions in the Void Created in Sulfur-Bridged Dinuclear Ruthenium Complexes

Metal Carbonyl Derivatives of Sulfur-Containing Quinones and Hydroquinones: Synthesis, Structures, and Electrochemical Properties

The reaction of CpMoMn(mu-S(2))(CO)(5), 1, with 1,4-benzoquinone in the presence of irradiation with visible light yielded the quinonedithiolato complex CpMoMn(CO)(5)(mu-S(2)C(6)H(2)O(2)), 2. The new complex CpMoMn(CO)(5)(mu-S(2)C(6)Cl(2)O(2)) (4) was synthesized similarly from 1 and 2,3-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone. Compounds 2 and 4 were reduced with hydrogen to yield the hydroquinone complexes CpMoMn(CO)(5)[mu-S(2)C(6)H(2)(OH)(2)], 3, and CpMoMn(CO)(5)[mu-S(2)C(6)Cl(2)(OH)(2)], 5. UV-vis irradiation of solutions of Fe(2)(CO)(6)(mu-S(2)) and 1,4-benzoquinone yielded the hydroquinone complex Fe(2)(CO)(6)[mu-S(2)C(6)H(2)(OH)(2)], 6. Compound 6 was oxidized to the quinone complex Fe(2)(CO)(6)(mu-S(2)C(6)H(2)O(2)), 7, by using 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone. Substitution of the CO ligands on 6 by PPh(3) yielded the derivatives Fe(2)(CO)(5)(PPh(3))[mu-S(2)C(6)H(2)(OH)(2)], 8, and Fe(2)(CO)(4)(PPh(3))(2)[mu-S(2)C(6)H(2)(OH)(2)], 9. The electrochemical properties of 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9 were measured by cyclic voltammetry. The molecular structure of each of the new compounds 2-9 was established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses.

Syntheses of ketonated disulfide-bridged diruthenium complexes via C-H bond activation and C-S bond formation

The alpha-C-H bonds of 3-methyl-2-butanone, 3-pentanone, and 2-methyl-3-pentanone were activated on the sulfur center of the disulfide-bridged ruthenium dinuclear complex [(RuCl(P(OCH3)3)2)2(mu-S2)(mu-Cl)2] (1) in the presence of AgX (X = PF6, SbF6) with concomitant formation of C-S bonds to give the corresponding ketonated complexes [(Ru(CH3CN)2(P(OCH3)3)2)(mu-SSCHR1COR2)(Ru(CH3CN)3(P(OCH3)3)2)]X3 ([5](PF6)3, R1 = H, R2 = CH(CH3)2, X = PF6; [6](PF6)3, R1 = CH3, R2 = CH2CH3, X = PF6; [7](SbF6)3, R1 = CH3, R2 = CH(CH3)2, X = SbF6). For unsymmetric ketones, the primary or the secondary carbon of the alpha-C-H bond, rather than the tertiary carbon, is preferentially bound to one of the two bridging sulfur atoms. The alpha-C-H bond of the cyclic ketone cyclohexanone was cleaved to give the complex [(Ru(CH3CN)2(P(OCH3)3)2)(mu-SS-1- cyclohexanon-2-yl)(Ru(CH3CN)3(P(OCH3)3)2)](SbF6)3 ([8](SbF6)3). And the reactions of acetophenone and p-methoxyacetophenone, respectively, with the chloride-free complex [(Ru(CH3CN)3(P(OCH3)3)2)2(mu-S2)]4+ (3) gave [(Ru(CH3CN)2(P(OCH3)3)2)(mu-SSCH2COAr)(Ru(CH3CN)3(P(OCH3)3)2)](CF3SO3)3 ([9](CF3SO3)3, Ar = Ph; [10](CF3SO3)3, Ar = p-CH3OC6H4). The relative reactivities of a primary and a secondary C-H bond were clearly observed in the reaction of butanone with complex 3, which gave a mixture of two complexes, i.e., [(Ru(CH3CN)2(P(OCH3)3)20(mu-SSCH2COCH2CH3)(Ru(CH3CN)3(P(OCH3)3)2)](CF3SO3)3 ([11](CF3SO3)3) and [(Ru(CH3CN)2(P(OCH3)3)2)(mu-SSCHCH3COCH3)(Ru(CH3CN)3(P(OCH3)2)](CF3SO3)3 ([12](CF3SO3)3), in a molar ratio of 1:1.8. Complex 12 was converted to 11 at room temperature if the reaction time was prolonged. The relative reactivities of the alpha-C-H bonds of the ketones were deduced to be in the order 2 degrees > 1 degree > 3 degrees, on the basis of the consideration of contributions from both electronic and steric effects. Additionally, the C-S bonds in the ketonated complexes were found to be cleaved easily by protonation at room temperature. The mechanism for the formation of the ketonated disulfide-bridged ruthenium dinuclear complexes is as follows: initial coordination of the oxygen atom of the carbonyl group to the ruthenium center, followed by addition of an alpha-C-H bond to the disulfide bridging ligand, having S=S double-bond character, to form a C-S-S-H moiety, and finally completion of the reaction by deprotonation of the S-H bond.

Pentasulfide S5(2-) as the first tridentate chelating ligand in Ru(P(OE)3)3S5(E = Me and Et)

Room temperature stirring of H2Ru(P(OE)3)4 (E = Me and Et) and elemental sulfur in benzene afforded the optically active compounds Ru(P(OMe)3)3S5 (1) and Ru(P(OEt)3)3S5 (2). Compounds 1 and 2 are crystallized in the trigonal space group P31 with a = 14.231(10) A, c = 10.24(1) A, V = 1794(2) A3, and Z = 3, and orthorhombic space group P212121 with a = 15.393(5) A, b = 18.126(6) A, c = 12.421(4) A, V = 3465(1) A3, and Z = 4, respectively. Solutions of 1 and 2 did not show any optical activity since the bulk materials are racemic mixtures. The X-ray analyses also reveal that in both compounds polysulfide S5(2-) ion acts as a novel tridentate ligand, resulting in an asymmetric bicyclic RuS5 unit having three- and five-membered rings around the ruthenium atom. Fragmentation of the S5(2-) ring to S2- ion was observed in the presence of sulfur-abstracting reagents such as PR3 (R = Ph, OMe, and OEt) and also to S2(2-) ion when the compounds were reacted with RuCl2(P(OE)3)4 (E = Me and Et).