Syntheses, crystallography and spectroelectrochemical studies of ruthenium azomethine complexes

Complexes of the type [RuII(bpy)(L)(Cl2)], where L is an azomethine ligand, have been synthesized and characterized by IR, 1H-NMR and UV-vis spectroscopies, elemental analysis, X-ray crystallography and cyclic voltammetry. Crystallographic, electrochemical and electronic spectral data and time-dependent DFT calculations are all consistent with azomethine ligands possessing strong p-acceptor properties. These p-acceptor properties can be “tuned” by a judicious choice of substituents on the azomethine ligand.