The electronic structures of diruthenium complexes containing an oligo(phenylene ethynylene) bridging ligand, and some related molecular structures.

The complexes {Cp'(L(2))Ru}C≡CC(6)H(4)C≡CC(6)H(2)(OMe)(2)C≡CC(6)H(4)C≡C{Ru(L(2))Cp'} = (PPh(3))(2), Cp' = Cp; L(2) = dppe, Cp' = Cp*) in which the metal centres are bridged by an oligomeric phenylene ethynylene (OPE) ligand have been prepared and the electronic structure of these representative ruthenium-capped OPEs investigated using a combination of electrochemical, UV-vis-NIR and IR spectroelectrochemical methods, and DFT-based calculations. The diruthenium complexes are oxidised to the thermodynamically stable dications Cp'Ru(L(2))C≡CC(6)H(4)C≡CC(6)H(2)(OMe)(2)C≡CC(6)H(4)C≡CRu(L(2))Cp', which on the basis of the spectroelectrochemical and computational results can be described in terms of two non-interacting Ru(C≡CAr)(L(2))Cp' moieties. X-ray structures of the oligophenyleneethynylene HC≡CC(6)H(4)C≡CC(6)H(2)(OMe)(2)C≡CC(6)H(4)C≡CH, the bis(gold) complex Ph(3)PAuC≡CC(6)H(4)C≡CC(6)H(2)(OMe)(2)C≡CC(6)H(4)C≡CAuPPh(3) and the precursor 1-ethynyl-4-(trimethylsilylethynyl)benzene are also reported.