Ruthenium Complexes of Tripodal Ligands with Pyridine and Triazole Arms: Subtle Tuning of Thermal,Electrochemical, and Photochemical Reactivity

Electrochemical and photochemical bond‐activation steps are important for a variety of chemical transformations. We present here four new complexes, [Ru(Lⁿ)(dmso)(Cl)]PF₆ ( 1 – 4 ), where Lⁿ is a tripodal amine ligand with 4?n pyridylmethyl arms and n?1 triazolylmethyl arms. Structural comparisons show that the triazoles bind closer to the Ru center than the pyridines. For L², two isomers (with respect to the position of the triazole arm, equatorial or axial), trans‐ 2 _sym and trans‐ 2 _un, could be separated and compared. The increase in the number of the triazole arms in the ligand has almost no effect on the Ru^II/Ru^III oxidation potentials, but it increases the stability of the Ru?S_dmso bond. Hence, the oxidation waves become more reversible from trans‐ 1 to trans‐ 4 , and whereas the dmso ligand readily dissociates from trans‐ 1 upon heating or irradiation with UV light, the Ru?S bond of trans‐ 4 remains perfectly stable under the same conditions. The strength of the Ru?S bond is not only influenced by the number of triazole arms but also by their position, as evidenced by the difference in redox behavior and reactivity of the two isomers, trans‐ 2 _sym and trans‐ 2 _un. A mechanistic picture for the electrochemical, thermal, and photochemical bond activation is discussed with data from NMR spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and spectroelectrochemistry.     

Front Cover: Synthesis and Characterization of Pd(0) Complexes with Electronically Differentiated Ferrocene Diphosphane Ligands (Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 22/2023)

The strategy of modifying phosphane ligands through substituent variation has been widely applied in coordination chemistry and catalysis. This contribution focuses on unsymmetric ferrocene diphosphanes with electronically distinct phosphane moieties, Ph₂PfcCH₂PAr₂ (Ar=Ph, 1 ; 3,5-C₆H₃Me₂, 2 ; and 3,5-C₆H₃(CF₃)₂, 3 ; fc=ferrocene-1,1′-diyl), which were synthesized and converted to the corresponding selenides ( 1Se – 3Se ) and Pd(0) complexes [Pd(L-κ²P,P′)(η²-ma)] ( 5 – 8 for L= 1 – 3 and dppf, ma=maleic anhydride). All compounds were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, ESI MS and elemental analysis, and the structures of 2 , 1Se ⋅ CHCl₃, 2Se and 5 ⋅ PhMe were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. In addition, the redox behavior of 1 – 3 and 5 – 8 was studied by cyclic voltammetry and rationalized through DFT calculations. The prepared Pd(0) complexes and their model compound [Pd(dppf-κ²P,P′)(η²-ma)] were employed in Pd-catalyzed C−H arylation of benzoxazole with chlorobenzene in n-butanol in the presence of K₃PO₄ as the base, and the catalytic results were compared with the collected characterization data, including the ¹J_PSe coupling constants determined for 1Se – 3Se , as a measure of ligand basicity.     

Inside Cover: Aquation Is a Crucial Activation Step for Anticancer Action of Ruthenium(II) Polypyridyl Complexes to Trigger Cancer Cell Apoptosis (Chem. Asian J. 2/2016)

Aquation has been proposed as crucial chemical action step for ruthenium (Ru) complexes, but its effects on the action mechanisms remain elusive. Herein, we have demonstrated the aquation process of a potent Ru polypyridyl complex (RuBmp=[Ru^II(bmbp)(phen)Cl]ClO₄, bmbp=2,6‐bis(6‐methylbenzimidazol‐2‐yl) pyridine, phen=phenanthroline) with a chloride ligand, and revealed that aquation of RuBmp effectively enhanced its hydrophilicity and cellular uptake, thus significantly increasing its anticancer efficacy. The aquation products (H‐RuBmp=[Ru^II(bmbp)(phen)Cl]ClO₄, [Ru^II(bmbp)(phen)(H₂O)]ClO₄, bmbp) exhibited a much higher apoptosis‐inducing ability than the intact complex, with involvement of caspase activation, mitochondria dysfunction, and interaction with cell membrane death receptors. H‐RuBmp demonstrated a higher interaction potency with the cell membrane and induced higher levels of ROS overproduction in cancer cells to regulate the AKT, MAPK, and p53 signaling pathways. Taken together, this study could provide useful information for fine‐tuning the rational design of next‐generation metal medicines.