The new compound [Ru(bpy)(tpm)NO](ClO
4)
3 [tpm = tris(1-pyrazolyl)methane; bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine] has been preparedin a stepwise procedure that involves the conversion of [Ru(bpy)(tpm)Cl]
+ into the aqua and nitro intermediates,followed by acidification. The diamagnetic complex crystallizes to exhibit distorted octahedral geometry around themetal, with the Ru-N(O) bond length 1.774(12) Å and the RuNO angle 179.1(12)
, typical for a {RuNO}
6 description.The [Ru(bpy)(tpm)NO]
3+ ion (
I) has been characterized by
1H NMR and IR spectroscopies (
NO = 1959 cm
-1) andthrough density functional theory calculations. Intense electronic transitions in the 300-350-nm region are assignedthrough time-dependent (TD)DFT as intraligand
* for bpy and tpm. The d
*(bpy) metal-to-ligand charge-transfer transitions appear at higher energies. Aqueous cyclic voltammetric studies show a reversible wave at 0.31V (vs Ag/AgCl, 3 M Cl
-), which shifts to 0.60 V in MeCN, along with the onset of a wave of an irreversible processat -0.2 V. The waves are assigned to the one- and two-electron reductions centered at the NO ligand, leading tospecies with {RuNO}
7 and {RuNO}
8 configurations, respectively. Controlled potential reduction of
I in MeCN led tothe [Ru(bpy)(tpm)NO]
2+ ion (
II), revealing a significant downward shift of
NO to 1660 cm
-1 as well as changes in theelectronic absorption bands.
II was also characterized by electron paramagnetic resonance, showing an anisotropicsignal at 110 K that arises from an
S =
1/
2 electronic ground state; the
g-matrix components and hyperfine couplingtensor resemble the behavior of related {RuNO}
7 complexes. Both
I and
II were characterized through their mainreactivity modes, electrophilic and nucleophilic, respectively. The addition of OH
- into
I generated the nitro complex,with
kOH = 3.05 × 10
6 M
-1 s
-1 (25
C). This value is among the highest obtained for related nitrosyl complexes andcorrelates with
ENO+/NO, the one-electron redox potential. Complex
II is a robust species toward NO release, althougha conversion to
I was observed in the presence of O
2. This reaction afforded a second-order rate law with
k = 3.5M
-1 s
-1 (25
C). The stabilization of the NO radical complex is attributed to the high positive charge of the precursorand to the geometrical and electronic structure as determined by the neutral tpm ligand.