Ruthenium(II)-arylazoimidazole-8-hydroxyquinolinate complexes: Synthesis,spectral study (H,C, COSY,HMQC-NMR) and redox properties

The reaction of Ru(OH₂)₂(RaaiR′)₂]²⁺ (RaaiR′ = 1-alkyl-2-(arylazo)imidazole, p-R-C₆H₄-N=N-C₃H₂NN(1)-R′, R = H (1), Me (2), Cl (3); R′ = Me (a), Et (b), CH₂Ph (c)) with 8-quinolinol (HQ) in acetone solution followed by the addition of NH₄PF₆ has afforded violet coloured mixed ligand complexes of the composition Ru(Q)(RaaiR′)₂](PF₆). The maximum molecular peak of 1b is observed at m’z 790 (50%) in the ESI mass spectrum. Ir spectra of the complexes show -C=N- and -N=N- stretching near at 1590 and 1370 cm⁻¹. The ¹H NMR spectral measurements suggest methylene, -CH₂−, in RaaiEt gives a complex AB type while in RaaiCH₂Ph it shows AB type quartets. Considering the arylazoimidazole and oxine moitie there are twenty different carbon atoms in the molecule which gives a total of twenty different peaks in the C¹³ NMR spectrum of complex 1a. In the ¹H-¹H COSY spectrum of the present complexes, absence of any off-diagonal peaks extending from δ = 14.12 and 9.55 ppm confirm their assignment of no proton on N(1) and N(3) respectively. Contour peaks in the ¹H-¹³C HMQC spectrum in the present complexes, the absence of any contours at δ = 157.12, 160.76, 155.67 ppm and 157.68–160.2 ppm assign them to the C(2), C(6), C(g) and C(h), C(i) carbon atoms respectively. The solution structure and stereoretentive transformation in each step have been established from n.m.r. results. Cyclic voltammograme show a Ru(III)/Ru(II) couple at 1.0–1.1 V versus SCE along with three successive ligand reductions.