The equilibrium structure of ruthenium pentacarbonyl (RPC) in various alcohols has been investigated using FTIR spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. Like the iron pentacarbonyl (IPC) analog, RPC forms a weak complex with a single alcohol molecule under ambient conditions. The formation of the complex induces a dipole in the pentacarbonyl rendering the perfectly symmetrical ?1 mode IR active. Comparison of the normalized ?1 areas of the two pentacarbonyl species reveal that RPC complexes to a greater extent than IPC. DFT calculations predict that the two species share a similar complexation mechanism in which electron density is donated from the alcohol to the pentacarbonyl through the hydroxyl oxygen. It has previously been observed that the close spatial proximity of the solvent molecule to the pentacarbonyl in the IPC-ethanol system affects the timescale of the photoinduced ligand substitution mechanism.

Solution dynamics of ruthenium pentacarbonyl in alcohol sovents

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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