Hydride ion transfer from ruthenium(II) complexes in water: kinetics and mechanism

Reactions of hydride complexes of ruthenium(II) with hydride acceptors have been examined for Ru(terpy)(bpy)H(+), Ru(terpy)(dmb)H(+), and Ru(η(6)-C(6)Me(6))(bpy)(H)(+) in aqueous media at 25 °C (terpy = 2,2';6',2'-terpyridine, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, dmb = 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine). The acceptors include CO(2), CO, CH(2)O, and H(3)O(+). CO reacts with Ru(terpy)(dmb)H(+) with a rate constant of 1.2 (0.2) × 10(1) M(-1) s(-1), but for Ru(η(6)-C(6)Me(6))(bpy)(H)(+), the reaction was very slow, k ≤ 0.1 M(-1) s(-1). Ru(terpy)(bpy)H(+) and Ru(η(6)-C(6)Me(6))(bpy)(H)(+) react with CH(2)O with rate constants of (6 ± 4) × 10(6) and 1.1 × 10(3) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. The reaction of Ru(η(6)-C(6)Me(6))(bpy)(H)(+) with acid exhibits straightforward, second-order kinetics, with the rate proportional to Ru(η(6)-C(6)Me(6))(bpy)(H)(+)] and H(3)O(+)] and k = 2.2 × 10(1) M(-1) s(-1) (μ = 0.1 M, Na(2)SO(4) medium). However, for the case of Ru(terpy)(bpy)H(+), the protonation step is very rapid, and only the formation of the product Ru(terpy)(bpy)(H(2)O)(2+) (presumably via a dihydrogen or dihydride complex) is observed with a k(obs) of ca. 4 s(-1). The hydricities of HCO(2)(-), HCO(-), and H(3)CO(-) in water are estimated as +1.48, -0.76, and +1.57 eV/molecule (+34, -17.5, +36 kcal/mol), respectively. Theoretical studies of the reactions with CO(2) reveal a "product-like" transition state with short C-H and long M-H distances. (Reactant) Ru-H stretched 0.68 ?; (product) C-H stretched only 0.04 ?. The role of water solvent was explored by including one, two, or three water molecules in the calculation.