1,10-Phenanthroline, reaction with ruthenium complexes

F. E. Lyttle and D. M. Hercules 161) investigated the energetic relations in the chemiluminescent reaction of ruthenium chelate complexes (Ru-III-2.2 -bipyridyI-, — 5-methyl-1.10-phenanthrolin — and other complexes) with hydroxyl ion or hydrazide. The general reaction is... 

Tris(diimine)ruthenium(III) complexes are significantly more oxidizing than the analogous complexes of both iron(III) and osmium(III). This correlates well with the observation that rates of reduction in base are also faster for the tris(diimine)ruthenium(III) complexes. The tris(l,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(III) reduction is significantly faster than the tris(2,2 -bipyridine)ruthenium(III) reduction, and this may be the reason why it is only the latter reaction that has been investigated in detail (1, 2). This system is particularly complex, and the rate law given by Eq. (1) holds only for very small concentrations of ruthenium complex. In contrast to the irondll) systems, simple kinetics... 

A particularly promising feature of the Ru(terpy)(phen)(L)2+ series, in relation to future molecular machine and motors, is related to the pronounced effect of steric factors on the photochemical reactivity of the complexes [84]. When the bulkiness of the spectator phenanthroline moiety was increased, the steric congestion of the coordination sphere of the ruthenium complex also increased. This increased congestion was qualitatively correlated to the enhanced photoreactivities of these complexes (Fig. 14). More specifically, changing phen for dmp increased by one to two orders of magnitude the quantum yield of the photosubstitution reaction of L by pyridine with L = dimethylsulfide or 2,6-dimethoxybenzonitrile. 

One group of NADH oxidants, which does not fit the proposed reaction scheme in Fig. 2.4 are the metal complexes. Examples of this type include nickel hexacyanoferrate deposited on porous nickel electrodes [29], gold electrodes modified with cobalt hexacyanoferrate films [30] and adsorbed l,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione complexes of ruthenium and osmium [31]. It is unclear how these systems work and no mechanism has been proposed to date. It may be worth noting that dihydronicotinamide groups have been shown to reduce aldehydes in a non-enzymatic reaction when the reaction is catalysed by zinc, a metal ion [15]. In a reaction between 1,10-phenanthroline-2-carboxaldehyde and N-propyl-l,4-dihydronicotinamide, no reaction was seen in the absence of zinc but when added to the system, the aldehyde was reduced and the nicotinamide was oxidised. This implies that either coordination to, or close proximity of, the metal ion activates... 

Hence, the first clearcut evidence for the involvement of enol radical cations in ketone oxidation reactions was provided by Henry [109] and Littler [110,112]. From kinetic results and product studies it was concluded that in the oxidation of cyclohexanone using the outer-sphere one-electron oxidants, tris-substituted 2,2 -bipyridyl or 1,10-phenanthroline complexes of iron(III) and ruthenium(III) or sodium hexachloroiridate(IV) (IrCI), the cyclohexenol radical cation (65" ) is formed, which rapidly deprotonates to the a-carbonyl radical 66. An upper limit for the deuterium isotope effect in the oxidation step (k /kjy < 2) suggests that electron transfer from the enol to the metal complex occurs prior to the loss of the proton [109]. In the reaction with the ruthenium(III) salt, four main products were formed 2-hydroxycyclohexanone (67), cyclohexenone, cyclopen tanecarboxylic acid and 1,2-cyclohexanedione, whereas oxidation with IrCl afforded 2-chlorocyclohexanone in almost quantitative yield. Similarly, enol radical cations can be invoked in the oxidation reactions of aliphatic ketones with the substitution inert dodecatungstocobaltate(III), CoW,20 o complex [169]. Unfortunately, these results have never been linked to the general concept of inversion of stability order of enol/ketone systems (Sect. 2) and thus have never received wide attention. 

The carbonylation of allylic compounds by transition metal complexes is a versatile method for synthesizing unsaturated carboxylic acid derivatives (Eq. 11.22) [64]. Usually, palladium complexes are used for the carbonylation of allylic compounds [65], whereas ruthenium complexes show characteristic catalytic activity in allylic carbonylation reactions. Cinnamyl methyl carbonate reacts with CO in the presence of a Ru3(CO)i2/l,10-phenanthroline catalyst in dimethylformamide (DMF) to give methyl 4-phenyl-3-butenoate in excellent yield (Eq. 11.23) [66]. The regioselectivity is the same as in the palladium complex-catalyzed reaction. However, when ( )-2-butenyl methyl carbonate is used as a substrate, methyl ( )-2-methyl-2-butenoate is the major product, with the more sterically hindered carbon atom of the allylic group being carbo-nylated (Eq. 11.24). This regioselectivity is characteristic of the ruthenium catalyst [66]. 

The catalytic activity of co-ordination compounds in oxidations continues to be examined and, together with the Faraday Society Discussion, other aspects of this area of investigation have been the subject of recent reviews. Redox reactions involving bipyridyl and u-phenanthroline complexes of transition metals have been discussed and catalytic oxidations of complexes of manganese, cobalt, copper, and palladium have also been surveyed. Reviews are also available of ruthenium ammine chemistry, and redox reactions involving molybdenum complexes, together with an account of catalase and peroxidase reactivity of copper(ii) complexes. ... 

A recent development31 is the preparation of metal polymer complexes directly on the electrode via the electrochemically induced polymerization of the metal complex. Ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) complexes with ligands containing aromatic amines, e.g. 3- or 4-aminopyridine or 5-amino-1,10-phenanthroline, are electrochemically polymerized to yield a film of the metal polymer on the electrode surface. The polymerization involves free radicals, which are formed via the initial oxidation of the metal complex to a radical cation and subsequent reaction of the radical cation with a base to yield the free radical. 

Chirality effects are also reported in the energy transfer from the ruthen-ium(II) polypyridyl complex to the osmium(II) complex in Langumuir-Blodgett (LB) films [76]. In this experiment, the LB film was prepared with [Ru(dp-phen)3]2+ (dp-phen = 4,7-dipheny 1-1,10-phenanthroline) and stearic acid, where the molar ratio was 1 1 to 1 4. The quenching reaction of the ruthenium(II) complex was carried out with optically pure osmium(II) complex, [Os(dp-phen)3]2+. This reaction consists of photoexcitation of the ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) complexes [Eqs. (29) and (30)], spontaneous decays of the excited ruthenium(H) and osmium(II) complexes [Eqs. (32) and (33)], and the energy transfer between the exited ruthenium(II) complex and the osmium(II) complex [Eq. (31)]. 

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