Layered compounds based on molybdenum disulfide and ruthenium arene complexes

Intercalation compounds of MoS₂ with monomeric or OH-bridged dimeric ruthenium arene cationic complexes have been obtained by interaction of MoS₂ single-layer dispersions with aqueous solutions of [(arene)Ru(H₂O)₃ ]SO₄ [arene=C₆H₆ , C₆H₂Me₄-1,2,4,5, C6H4Me-1-Prⁱ-4]. The structural arrangement of these intercalation compounds is discussed on the basis of XRD and EXAFS data. The arene ligands are orientated roughly perpendicular to the MoS₂ slabs. Their nature determines the interlayer spacing as well as the intercalated cation content. Heating removes the organic ligands, while ruthenium-containing species remain in the van der Waals space of MoS₂.