Synthesis and comparative behavior of ruthena(II)cycles bearing benzene ligand in the radical polymerization of styrene and vinyl acetate

A series of half-sandwich ruthenium(II) complexes of the type [Ru(η6-C6H6)(N∩C)L]PF6 bearing cyclometalated N,N-dimethylbenzylamine and 2-phenylpyridine moieties has been prepared. The compounds were tested in ATRP of styrene and vinyl acetate. The activity is strongly dependent on the nature of the ligands and the mechanism revealed to be quite complex.