1,10-(phenanthroline)-bis{1-alkyl-2-(arylazo)imidazole} ruthenium(II) perchlorate: Synthesis,spectral study,and electrochemistry

The hetero-tris-chelates of the formula Ru(Phen)(RAaiR′)₂](ClO₄)₂ (Phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, RAaiR′ = 1-alkyl-2-(arylazo)imidazole, p-R-C₆H₄-N=N-C₃H₂-NN-1-R′, where R = H (a), Me (b), Cl (c) and R′ = Me (II), Et (III), CH₂Ph (IV)) have been isolated from the reaction of ctc-RuCl₂(RAaiR′)₂] with AgNO₃ + Phen or Ag(Phen)₂](ClO₄) in acetone at 40°C in dark followed by the addition of NaClO₄ (aq). The stereo-chemistry of the complexes have been supported by ¹H NMR data. Considering the arylazoimidazole and phenanthroline moietie there are twenty different carbon atoms in the molecule which gives a total of twenty different peaks in the ¹³C NMR spectrum of complex Ia. Cyclic voltammograms show Ru(III)/Ru(II) couple at 1.3–1.4 V vs SCE along with three successive ligand reductions. The article is published in the original.