Syntheses, characterization, and crystal structures of ruthenium(II)/(III) complexes with tridentate salicylaldiminato ligands

Treatment of [Ru(PPh₃)₃Cl₂] with one equivalent of tridentate Schiff base 2-[(2-dimethylamino-ethylimino)-methyl]-phenol (HL) in the presence of triethylamine afforded a ruthenium(III) complex [RuCl₃(κ²-N,N-NH₂CH₂CH₂NMe₂)(PPh₃)] as a result of decomposition of HL. Interaction of HL and one equivalent of [RuHCl(CO)(PPh₃)₃], [Ru(CO)₂Cl₂] or [Ru(tht)₄Cl₂] (tht = tetrahydrothiophene) under different conditions led to isolation of the corresponding ruthenium(II) complexes [RuCl(κ³-N,N,O-L)(CO)(PPh₃)] (2), [RuCl(κ³-N,N,O-L)(CO)₂] (3), and a ruthenium(III) complex [RuCl₂(κ³-N,N,O-L)(tht)] (4), respectively. Molecular structures of 1·CH₂Cl₂, 2·CH₂Cl₂, 3 and 4 have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.