Dichlorido(η6-p-cymene)[tris(2-cyanoethyl)phosphine]ruthenium(II)

Abstract

The tris(2-cyanoethyl)phosphine (tcep) complex [RuCl2{P(CH2CH2CN)3}(η6-p-cymene)] (p-cymene = p-CH3C6H4iPr) was synthesised by the bridge-splitting reaction of the chlorido-dimer [RuCl2(η6-p-cymene)]2 with tcep. The complex was characterised by a single-crystal X-ray structure determination as well as NMR spectroscopy, ESI mass spectrometry, and microelemental analysis. X-ray crystallography shows the ruthenium atom is coordinated by p-cymene in a η6-fashion, two chlorides and the phosphorus atom of the tcep ligand with the donor set defining a distorted octahedral geometry. The ESI mass spectrometry study reveals that the complex readily forms negative ions [M + Cl]− and [2M + Cl]− by association with a chloride ion.

Keywords

• ruthenium
• tris(2-cyanoethyl)phosphine
• p-cymene
• ESI mass spectrometry
• X-ray crystallography