Synthesis and molecular structure of the trinuclear ruthenium cluster cations [H3Ru3(C6H6)(C6H2Me4)2(O)]+ and [H3Ru3{C6H5(CH2)2OH}(C6H2Me4)2(O)]+

Vieille-Petit, Ludovic; Therrien, Bruno; Süss-Fink, Georg

doi:10.1016/S0020-1693(03)00383-9

Synthesis and molecular structure of the trinuclear ruthenium cluster cations [H3Ru3(C6H6)(C6H2Me4)2(O)]+ and [H3Ru3{C6H5(CH2)2OH}(C6H2Me4)2(O)]+

Author(s)

Vieille-Petit, Ludovic

Date issued

November 20, 2003

In

Inorganica Chimica Acta, 2003/355/394-398

Subjects

Cluster catalysis Second sphere coordination Arene hydrogenation Biphasic catalysis

Abstract

The trinuclear arene–ruthenium cluster cations [H3Ru3(C6H6)(C6H2Me4)2(O)]+ (2) and [H3Ru3{C6H5(CH2)2OH}(C6H2Me4)2(O)]+ (3) have been synthesised from the dinuclear precursor [H3Ru2(C6H2Me4)2]+ (1) and the mononuclear complexes [Ru(C6H6)(H2O)3]2+ and [Ru{C6H5(CH2)2OH}(H2O)3]2+, isolated and characterised as the tetrafluoroborate salts. Cations 2 and 3 are analogues of the cluster cation [H3Ru3(C6H6)(C6Me6)2(O)]+ which was found to catalyse the hydrogenation of benzene to give cyclohexane under biphasic conditions (‘supramolecular cluster catalysis’). The single-crystal X-ray structure analyses of 2 and 3 have been determined. Unlike [2][BF4]•3H2O, [3][PF6]•H2O shows a dimeric structure in the solid state, thanks to hydrogen bonds between the hydroxo function of one molecule of 3, a water molecule and the oxo cap of an other molecule of 3.