Air-stable ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) fluoride complexes. Crystal structures of [OC-6-13][MF2(CO)2(PR3)2] [M = Ru, PR3 = PEtPh2; M = Os, PR3 = PPh3 or P(C6H11)3]

Abstract

The reaction of Lewis bases L with [{MF₂(CO)₃}₄] (M = Ru or Os) in organic solvents provided a clean, high-yield, route to a series of air- and moisture-stable ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) fluoride co-ordination compounds of general formulae [MF₂(CO)₂L₂]. Characterisation by elemental analysis, FAB mass spectrometry, NMR and IR spectroscopy indicated a cis,cis,trans ligand arrangement. The crystal structures of [OC-6-13][MF₂(CO)₂(PR₃)₂] [M = Ru, PR₃ = PEtPh₂; M = Os, PR₃ = PPh₃ or P(C₆H₁₁)₃] have been determined by X-ray crystallography. The geometry about the central metal atoms for all three structures is distorted pseudo-octahedral with ligand environments consistent with the spectroscopic data. In all the structures the phosphine ligands are bent towards the fluoride ligands and show intramolecular H · · · F interactions.