Diruthenium-polyyn-diyl-diruthenium wires: electronic coupling in the long distance regime.

Reported herein is a series of Ru2(Xap)4 capped polyyn-diyl compounds, where Xap is either 2-anilinopyridinate (ap) or its aniline substituted derivatives. Symmetric [Ru2(Xap)4](μ-C4k)[Ru2(Xap)4] (compounds 4ka (X = 3-isobutoxy) and 4kc (X = 3,5-dimethoxy) with k = 2, 3, 4, and 5) was obtained from the Glaser coupling reaction of Ru2(Xap)4(C2kH). Unsymmetric [Ru2(Xap)4](μ-C(4k+2))[Ru2(ap)4] (compounds 4k+2b with k = 2, 3, and 4) were prepared from the Glaser coupling reaction between Ru2(Xap)4(C(2k+2)H) and Ru2(ap)4(C2kH).