Ruthenium(II), Ruthenium(III) And Osmium(III) Complexes With Rn-Neutral Donor Ligands, And Their Catalytic Oxidative Properties

Abstract

A number of new complexes [RunCl2 (PPh3)2L], [RumX3 (AsPh3)L] and [OsnICl3(PPh3)L'] [L= o-anthranilonitrile(anth), o-phenylenediamine(phdm), l,10-phenanthroline(phen), 2,2'-bipyridine(bipy); L' = Phen, bipy; X = Cl, Br] have been prepared. They were characterized by spectroscopic techniques and investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The ruthenium(III) complexes were found to be more efficient catalytic oxidants than those of ruthenium(II), while osmium(III) complexes showed a weak catalytic activity. In the presence of N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide as a co-6xidant, the ruthenium catalysts oxidised primary alcohols to aldehydes and secondary alcohols to ketones.