Synthesis, characterization, and SAMs electroactivity of ruthenium complexes with sulfur containing ligands

The vibrational and ¹H NMR data hints that the coordination of the 2,2′-dithiodipyridine (2-pySS) ligand to the [Ru(CN)₅]³⁻ metal center occurs through the sulfur atom instead of the nitrogen atoms which is usually observed for N-heterocyclic ligands. Electrochemical results show that this coordination mode implies an additional thermodynamic stabilization of the Ru^II over Ru^III oxidation state due to a relative stronger π-back-bonding interaction with the empty low-lying dπ orbitals of the sulfur atom. Computational data reinforce the experimental results showing that the 2-pySS Lewis base centers are located on the sulfur atoms. Ligands containing only sulfur atoms as coordination sites (2,2′-dithiodipyridine N-oxide (2-pySSNO), 1,4-dithiane (1,4-dt), and 2,6-dithiaspiro[3.3]heptane (asp)) were also coordinated to the [Ru(CN)₅]³⁻ metal center to undoubtedly correlate the electrochemical results with the ligand coordination atom. Among the synthesized compounds, the [Ru(CN)₅(1,4-dt)]³⁻ and [Ru(CN)₅(asp)]³⁻ complexes showed to be able to form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold. These SAMs, which were characterized by SERS (surface-enhanced Raman scattering) spectroscopy, successfully assessed the heterogeneous electron transfer reaction of the cytochrome c metalloprotein in physiological medium.