Highly Covalent, Pseudo-Octahedral Ru(II) Bis(amides): Panchromatic Absorption and Low-Energy Photocatalysis

Abstract

A pseudo-octahedral Ru(II) complex supported by trans-amido donors is presented. Ru(t_2g)-N(2p) dπ-pπ mixing generates highly covalent frontier MOs and strong absorption of visible/NIR light with π-anti-bonding-to-ligand charge-transfer character, covering a much wider range than is typical of Ru(II) chromophores. Low-energy irradiation generates a 33 ns dark excited-state capable of mediating electron-and energy-transfer photochemistry.