Edge-bridging and face-capping coordination of alkenyl ligands in triruthenium carbonyl cluster complexes derived from hydrazines: synthetic, structural, theoretical, and kinetic studies.

The reactions of the triruthenium cluster complex [Ru3(mu-H)(mu3-eta2-HNNMe2)(CO)9] (1; H2NNMe2=1,1-dimethylhydrazine) with alkynes (PhC triple bond CPh, HC triple bond CH, MeO2CC triple bond CCO2Me, PhC triple bond CH, MeO2CC triple bond CH, HOMe2CC triple bond CH, 2-pyC triple bond CH) give trinuclear complexes containing edge-bridging and/or face-capping alkenyl ligands. Whereas the edge-bridged products are closed triangular species (three Ru-Ru bonds), the face-capped products are open derivatives (two Ru-Ru bonds). For terminal alkynes, products containing gem (RCCH2) and/or trans (RHCCH) alkenyl ligands have been identified in both edge-bridging and face-capping positions, except for the complex [Ru3(mu3-eta2-HNNMe2)(mu3-eta3-HCCH-2-py)(mu-CO)(CO)7], which has the two alkenyl H atoms in a cis arrangement. Under comparable reaction conditions (1:1 molar ratio, THF at reflux, time required for the consumption of complex 1), some reactions give a single product, but most give mixtures of isomers (not all the possible ones), which were separated. To determine the effect of the hydrazido ligand, the reactions of [Ru3(mu-H)(mu3-eta2-MeNNHMe)(CO)9] (2; HMeNNHMe=1,2-dimethylhydrazine) with PhC triple bond CPh, PhC triple bond CH, and HC triple bond CH were also studied. For edge-bridged alkenyl complexes, the Ru--Ru edge that is spanned by the alkenyl ligand depends on the position of the methyl groups on the hydrazido ligand. For face-capped alkenyl complexes, the relative orientation of the hydrazido and alkenyl ligands also depends on the position of the methyl groups on the hydrazido ligand. A kinetic analysis of the reaction of 1 with PhC[triple chemical bond]CPh revealed that the reaction follows an associative mechanism, which implies that incorporation of the alkyne in the cluster is rate-limiting and precedes the release of a CO ligand. X-ray diffraction, IR and NMR spectroscopy, and calculations of minimum-energy structures by DFT methods were used to characterize the products. A comparison of the absolute energies of isomeric compounds (obtained by DFT calculations) helped rationalize the experimental results.