Mononuclear [Ru-II(tptz)(acac:)(CH3CN)]ClO4 ((ClO4)-Cl-[1]) and mixed-valent dinuclear [(acac)(2)Ru-III{(mu-tptz-H+)(-)}Ru-II(acac)(CH3CN)]ClO4 ([5]ClO4; acac = acetylacetonate) complexes have been synthesized via the reactions of Ru-II(acac)2(CH3CN)(2) and 2,4,6-tris(2-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (tptz), in 1:1 and 2:1 molar ratios, respectively. In [1]ClO4, tptz binds with the Ru-II ion in a tridentate N,N,N mode (motif A), whereas in [5]ClO4, tptz: bridges the metal ions unsymmetrically via the tridentate neutral N,N,N mode with the Ru-II center and cyclometalated N,C- state with the Ru-III site (motif F). The activation of the coordinated nitrile function in [1]ClO4 and [5]ClO4 in the presence of ethanol and alkylamine leads to the formation of iminoester ([2]ClO4 and [7]ClO4) and amidine ([4]ClO4) derivatives, respectively. Crystal structure analysis of [2]ClO4 reveals the formation of a beautiful eight-membered water cluster having a chair conformation. The cluster is H-bonded to the pendant pyridyl ring N of tptz and also with the O atom of the perchlorate ion, which, in turn, makes short (C-H––-O) contacts with the neighboring molecule, leading to a H-bonding network. The redox potentials corresponding to the (RuI)-I-I state in both the mononuclear {[(acac)(tptz)Ru-II-N=-C-CH3]ClO4 ([1]ClO4) >> [(acac)(tptz)Ru-II-NH=C(CH3)-OC2H5]ClO4 ([2]ClO4) > [(acac)(tptz)(RuNH2)-N-II-C6H4(CH3)]ClO4 ([3]ClO4) > [(acac)(tptz)Ru-II-NH=C(CH3)-NHC2H5]ClO4 ([4]ClO4)} and dinuclear {[(acac)(2)Ru-III-{mu-tptz-H+)(-)}Ru-II(acac)(N equivalent to C-CH3)]ClO4 {(mu-tptz-H+)(-)}Ru-II(acac)(N equivalent to C-CH3)]ClO4 ([5]ClO4), [(acac)(2)Ru-III[(mu-tptz-H+(N-O ([6]ClO4), [(acac)(2)Ru-III{(mu-tptz-H+)(-)}Ru-II(acac)(NH=C(CH3)-OC2H5)]ClO4( [7]ClO4), and [(acac)(2)Ru-III{(mu-tptz-H+)(-)}Ru-II(acac)(NC4H4N)]ClO4 ([8]ClO4), complexes vary systematically depending on the electronic nature of the coordinated sixth ligands. However, potentials involving the Ru-III center in the dinuclear complexes remain more or less invariant. The mixed-valent (RuRuIII)-Ru-II species ([5]ClO4-[8]ClO4) exhibits high comproportionation constant (K-c) values of 1.1 X 10(12)-2 x 109, with substantial contribution from the donor center asymmetry at the two metal sites. Complexes display Ru-II- and Ru-III-based metal-to-ligand and ligand-to-metal charge-transfer transitions, respectively, in the visible region and ligand-based transitions in the UV region. In spite of reasonably high K, values for [5]ClO4[8]ClO4, the expected intervalence charge-transfer transitions did not resolve in the tpical near-IR region up to 2000 nm. The paramagnetic (RuRuIII)-Ru-II species ([5]ClO4-[8]ClO4) displays rhombic electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra at 77 K (< g > similar to 2.15 and Delta g similar to 0.5), typical of a low-spin Ru-III ion in a distorted octahedral environment. The one-electron-reduced tptz complexes [RuII(tptz center dot-)(acac)(CH3CN)] (1) and [(acac)(2)Ru-III{mu-tptz-H+)(center dot 2-)}-Ru-II(acac)(CH3CN)] (5), however, show a free-radical-type EPR signal near g = 2.0 with partial metal contribution.

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