Homo-valent diruthenium(ii,ii) carbonates Na4[Ru2(CO3)4]·10H2O: synthesis, structure, properties, and calculation

Abstract

Homo-valent diruthenium(II,II) carbonates have been underexplored hitherto. This paper reports the synthesis and crystal structure of a diruthenium(II,II) compound, Na₄Ru₂(CO₃)₄·10H₂O (1). It has a two-dimensional structure in which the paddle-wheel diruthenium units of Ru₂(CO₃)₄⁴⁻ are cross-linked through the carbonate groups. The investigation of the primary magnetic properties and theoretical studies with density functional theory (DFT) reveal that weak antiferromagnetic interactions are propagated between the Ru₂ units which contain two unpaired electrons in an electron configuration σ²π⁴δ²π*²δ*² with a ground state S = 1. According to Raman spectrum measurements combined with theoretical calculations, the strong peak at 356 cm⁻¹ in the small-wavenumber region was assigned to the stretching of the Ru–Ru double bonds.