Products of the electrochemical oxidation of cis-L(2)Ru((II))(NCS)(2) in dimethylformamide and acetonitrile determined by LC-UV/Vis-MS.

The bis tetrabutylammonium salt of the solar cell dye, L(2)Ru(NCS)(2), ((Bu(4)N(+))(2) Ru(dcbpyH)(2)(NCS)(2)), was oxidized electrochemically in both dimethylformamide and acetonitrile. Four different ruthenium complexes were identified by LC-UV/Vis-MS during the electrochemical oxidation process in dimethylformamide. The formation of the four complexes may be explained by a competition between a solvent-independent route with the formation of the intermediate complex L(2)Ru(NCS)(CN) and the final oxidation product L(2)Ru(CN)(2) and a solvent-dependent route, which proceeds through the intermediate complex L(2)Ru(NCS)(DMF)(+) to the final product L(2)Ru(CN)(DMF)(+). In acetonitrile the solvent-dependent mechanism is dominant and only the oxidation products L(2)Ru(NCS)(ACN)(+) and L(2)Ru(CN)(ACN)(+) were identified.