PHOTOCHEMICAL BEHAVIOR OF THE IMETHYLSULFOXIDE)BIS(T-BUTYLPYRIDINE)RUTHENIUM(II) COMPLEX

The photochemical behavior of the cis, cis, trans-[RuCl2(dmso)(2)(tbpy )(2)] (tbpy = 4-t-butylpyridine, dmso = dimethyl sulfoxide) has been i nvestigated by means of electronic, FTIR and H-1 NMR spectroscopy, cyc lic voltammetry and reversed-phase HPLC techniques. Excitation at the charge-transfer and ligand field bands in the near-UV region leads to the selective labilization of the dimethyl sulfoxide ligands, forming the corresponding acetonitrile complexes with complete retention of co nfiguration. No evidence of parallel geometric or linkage isomerizatio n processes has been found. The reactive excited state is consistent w ith a (LF)-L-3 state around 19,000 cm(-1). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S .A.