Syntheses, spectra and crystal structures of ruthenium(II) complexes with polypyridyl: [Ru(bipy)(2)(phen)](ClO4)(2)center dot H2O and [Ru(bipy)(2)(Me-phen)](ClO4)(2)

Two ruthenium(II) complexes with polypyridyl, Ru(bipy)(2)(phen)](ClO4)(2) . H2O (1) and [Ru(bipy)(2)(Me-phen)](ClO4)(2) (2), (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine, Me-phen = 5-methyl-1,10-phenanthroline), were synthesized and characterized by IR, MS and NMR spectra. Their structures were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. The strong steric interaction between the polypyridyl ligands was relieved neither by the elongation of the Ru-N bonds nor increase of the N-Ru-N bite angles. The coordination sphere was distorted to relieve the ligand interaction by forming specific angles (delta) between the polypyridyl ligand planes and coordination planes (N-Ru-N), and forming larger twisted angles between the two pyridine rings for each bipy. The bond distances of Ru-N(bipy) and Ru-N(phen) were virtually identical within experimental error, as expected of pi back-bonding interactions which statistically involve each of the ligands present in the coordination sphere.