Intervalence-resonant Raman spectroscopy of strongly coupled mixed-valence cluster dimers of ruthenium.

Resonance Raman spectroelectrochemistry (RR-SEC) at -20 degrees C has been performed on the pyrazine-bridged dimer of mu-oxo-centered trinuclear ruthenium-acetate "clusters"--[(dmap)(CO)(mu-OAc)6(mu3-O)Ru3(mu-L(b))Ru3(mu3-O)(mu-OAc)6(CO)(dmap)]n (where dmap = 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine and L(b) = pyrazine-h4 and pyrazine-d4)-in three oxidation states: n = 0, -1, and -2. In the one-electron reduced, "mixed-valent" state (overall -1 charge and a single odd electron; formal oxidation states [II, II, III]-[III, III, II] on the metal centers), the Raman excitation at 800 nm is resonant with a cluster-to-cluster intervalence charge-transfer (IVCT) band. Under these conditions, scattering enhancement is observed for all four totally symmetric vibrational modes of the bridging pyrazine ligand (nu8a, nu9a, nu1, and nu6a) in the investigated spectral range (100-2000 cm(-1)), and there is no evidence of activity in non-totally symmetric vibrations. Resonantly enhanced Raman peaks related to peripheral pyridyl (dmap) ligand modes and low-frequency features arising from the trigonal Ru3O cluster core and the cluster[Ru]-[N]ligand vibrations were also observed in the spectra of the intermediate-valence (n = -1) cluster dimer. The vibrational assignments and interpretations proposed in this work were reinforced by observation of characteristic isotopic frequency shifts accompanying deuteration of the bridging pyrazine. The results reveal that the fully symmetric (A(g)) vibrational motions of the organic bridge are coupled to the nominally metal cluster-to-metal cluster fast intramolecular electron transfer (ET) and provide validation of the near-delocalized description according to a predicted three-site/three-state (e.g., metal-bridge-metal) vibronic coupling model, in which the important role of the bridging ligand in mediating electronic communication and delocalization between charge centers is explicitly considered. Further compelling evidence supporting an extended five-state model, which incorporates the peripheral cluster-bound pyridyl ligands, is also presented.