S. Luukkanen et al., Photochemical reactivity of halogen-containing ruthenium-dcbpy (dcbpy=4,4 '-dicarboxylic acid-2,2 '-bipyridine) compounds, trans(Br)-[Ru(dcbpy)(CO)(2)Br-2] and trans(I)-[Ru(dcbpy)(CO)(2)I-2], PHYS CHEM P, 3(11), 2001, pp. 1992-1998
The ruthenium mono(dcbpy) (dcbpy=4,4'-dicarboxylic acid-2,2'-bipyridine) co
mplexes, trans(Br)-[Ru(dcbpy)(CO)(2)Br-2] and trans(I)-[Ru(dcbpy)(CO)(2)I-2
], have been synthesized and structurally characterized. Both compounds sho
w strong photochemical activity. Under illumination in acetonitrile the col
our of the dye solutions changes and infrared spectra indicate an irreversi
ble change, with two CO stretching bands disappearing from the spectra with
concomitant appearance of a new CO stretching band, an indication of a los
s of a CO ligand. Changes in the proton NMR spectra suggest that the releas
e of the CO ligand is followed by reorganization of the halogen ligands and
attachment of one solvent molecule leading to formation of the cis(X)-Ru(d
cbpy)(CO)(CH3CN)X-2] (X=Br, I) isomer. In the visible spectra, a new absorp
tion band appears under illumination at 510 nm allowing observation of the
kinetics of the reaction. The quantum yields of the reactions are 0.68 and
0.34 for the bromine and iodine complexes, respectively. The trans(I)-[Ru(d
cbpy)(CO)(2)I-2] compound shows a temperature dependent luminescence spectr
um in the temperature range 77 to 116 K, with an activation energy of 850 c
m(-1). We assign this dependence to a thermal population of a secondary tri
plet size, slightly above the emitting state, that is capable of initiating
the photochemical reaction and/or a non-radiative relaxation to the ground
state. The redox properties of the starting materials and the photoreactio
n products were studied with cyclic voltammetry and the results are discuss
ed with reference to the reaction mechanisms.