O-Demethylation reaction at a diruthenium core: synthesis and structural study of two novel diruthenium compounds

The reaction between Ru-2(OAc)(4)Cl and di(o-methoxyphenyl) formamidine led to the unexpected products trans-Ru-2(O2CCH,)(2)(mu-N,N'-eta(2)-N,O-o-MeOF orm) (mu-N,N'-eta(2)-N,O-o-MeOForm') (1) and Ru-2(O2CCH3)(mu-N,N'-o-MeOForm ) (mu-N,N'-eta(2)-N,O-o-MeOForm) (mu-N,N'-eta(2)-N,O-o-MeOForm') (2), where o-MeOForm is di(o-methoxyphenyl)formamidinate, and o-MeOForm' is the O-dem ethylation derivative of o-MeOForm, ( o-methoxyphenyl) (o-oxyphenyl) formam idinate. Both compounds 1 and 2 were structurally characterized by Xray dif fraction analysis, and are isoelectronic with the previously studied chloro -tetracarboxylatodiruthenium (II,III) and chlorotetrakis ( diarylformamidin ato)diruthenium( II,III) on the basis of structural and magnetic data. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.