Hydrolytic cleavage of Schiff bases by [RuCl2(DMSO)4]

New hexa-coordinated Ru(II) complexes of the type [RuCl2(DMSO)2(diamine)] (diamine = o-phenylenediamine and ethylenediamine) have been prepared by reacting cis-[RuCl2(DMSO)4] with Schiff bases (H2sal-en, 1; H2nap-en, 2; H2sal-o-pdn, 3; H2nap-o-pdn, 4) in a 1:1 ratio. The ligands, which were expected to act as tetradentate (N2O2) chelates under the normal reaction conditions, were found to undergo hydrolytic cleavage to form the diamine and the corresponding aldehyde. All the complexes have been characterized by analytical and spectroscopic (IR, electronic and1H NMR) data. Single-crystal X-ray analysis of the complex [RuCl2(DMSO)2(o-pndn)] revealed that the coordination environment around the ruthenium metal consists of a N2S2Cl2 octahedron.

Graphical abstractNew hexa-coordinated Ru(II) complexes of the type [RuCl2(DMSO)2(diamine)] (diamine = o-phenylenediamine and ethylenediamine) have been prepared by reacting cis-[RuCl2(DMSO)4] with Schiff bases (H2sal-en, 1; H2nap-en, 2; H2sal-o-pdn, 3; H2nap-o-pdn, 4) in a 1:1 ratio. The ligands, which were expected to act as tetradentate (N2O2) chelates under the normal reaction conditions, were found to undergo hydrolytic cleavage to form the diamine and the corresponding aldehyde. All the complexes have been characterized by analytical and spectroscopic (IR, electronic and 1H NMR) data. Single-crystal X-ray analysis of the complex [RuCl2(DMSO)2(o-pndn)] revealed that the coordination environment around the ruthenium metal consists of a N2S2Cl2 octahedron.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide