Crystal structure and redox potentials of the tppz-bridged {RuCl(bpy)}

We report the structural and electrochemical characterization of the binuclear complex [μ-(C24H16N6){RuCl(C10H8N2)}2](PF6)2, which contains the bis-tridentate bridging ligand 2,3,5,6-tetra-kis-(pyridin-2-yl)pyrazine (tppz), the monodentate ligand Cl-, and the bidentate ligand 2,2'-bi-pyridine (bpy) {systematic name: μ-2,3,5,6-tetra-kis-(pyridin-2-yl)pyrazine-bis-[(2,2'-bi-pyridine)-chlorido-ru-thenium(II)] bis-(hexa-fluorido-phosphate)}. The complete [(bpy)(Cl)Ru(tppz)Ru(Cl)(bpy)]2+ dication is generated by crystallographic twofold symmetry; the tppz bridging ligand has a significantly twisted conformation, with an average angle of 42.4° between the mean planes of adjacent pyridyl rings. The metal-coordinated chloride ligands are in a trans configuration relative to each other across the {Ru(tppz)Ru} unit. The RuII ion exhibits a distorted octa-hedral geometry due to the restricted bite angle [160.6 (3)°] of the tppz ligand. For bpy, the bond lengths of the Ru-N bonds are 2.053 (8) and 2.090 (8) Å, with the shorter bond being opposite to Ru-Cl. For the tridentate tppz, the Ru-N distances involving the outer N atoms trans to each other are 2.069 (8) and 2.072 (9) Å, whereas the Ru-N bond involving the central N atom has the much shorter length of 1.939 (7) Å as a result of the geometric constraints and stronger π-acceptor ability of the pyrazine-centered bridge. The Ru-Cl distance is 2.407 (3) Å and the intra-molecular distance between Ru centers is 6.579 (4) Å. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯Cl and C-H⋯F inter-actions consolidate the packing.