Can a meso-type dinuclear complex be chiral?: dinuclear β-diketonato Ru(III) complexes

Dalton Trans. 2012 Jan 21;41(3):747-51. doi: 10.1039/c1dt11133g. Epub 2011 Sep 6.

Abstract

Dinuclear Ru(III) complexes, [Ru(III)(acac)(2)(dabe)Ru(III)(acac)(2)] (acacH = acetylacetone; dabeH(2) = 1, 2-diacetyl-1,2-dibenzoylethane) and [Ru(III)(acac)(2)(tbet)Ru(III)(acac)(2)] (tbetH(2) = 1,1,2,2-tetrabenzoylethane) were synthesized by reacting [Ru(acac)(2)(CH(3)CN)(2)]PF(6) with dabeH(2) and tbetH(2) respectively, in toluene. The X-ray structural analysis of a meso-type dinuclear Ru(III) complex, ΔΛ-[Ru(III)(acac)(2)(dabe)Ru(III)(acac)(2)], showed that the bridging part became chiral due to the orthogonal twisting of two non-symmetrical β-diketonato moieties. To confirm this conclusion, the complex was resolved chromatographically to provide a pair of optical antipodes. Such chirality in the bridging part was not generated for [Ru(III)(acac)(2)(tbet)Ru(III)(acac)(2)], because the β-diketonato moieties in tbet(2-) are symmetrical.