Synthesis and Structure of Ru(II) Complexes of Thiosemicarbazone: Highly Selective Catalysts for Oxidative Scission of Olefins to Aldehydes

New Ru(II)-TSC complexes of the type [RuH(TSC)(CO)(PPh3)(2)] (where TSC= monobasic bidentate anthracenealdehyde thiosemicarbazone ligands) were synthesized and characterized by means of elemental analysis, IR, UV-vis, and NMR spectral methods. Molecular structures of the complexes were determined by single crystal X-ray crystallography, which prove the coordination mode of the ligands and reveal the presence of a distorted octahedral geometry around the Ru ion. The synthesized complexes were developed as catalysts for selective oxidative cleavage of a wide range of alkenes as well as alkynes to the corresponding aldehydes/diketones in acetonitrile/water in the presence of NaIO4 at room temperature. The maximum yield was obtained up to 99% using 0.5 mol% of catalyst loading without any over oxidation byproducts. The effect of substituents of the ligand, solvents, reaction temperature and catalyst loading on the catalytic activity of the complexes is also investigated.