A Ruthenium(II) Aqua Complex as Efficient Chemical and Photochemical Catalyst for Alkene and Alcohol Oxidation

Different synthetic routes have been developed to obtain the aqua complex trans-[Ru-II(trpy)(pypz-H)(OH2)](PF6)(2), Ru6. This complex, together with the chlorido intermediate complexes cis- and trans-[(RuCl)-Cl-II(pypz-H)(trpy)](+), Ru5a and Ru5b, have been fully characterized by analytical, spectroscopic, and electrochemical methods. Furthermore, the trans-Ru5b complex has been characterized in the solid state through single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The aqua complex Ru6 was tested as catalyst in the photooxidation of alcohols in water and in the chemical oxidation of alkenes, displaying a good performance with high selectivity values in both catalytic processes.