title: Efficient energy conversion in photochromic ruthenium DMSO complexes.
abstract: The photochromic compounds trans- and cis-[Ru(tpy)(Mepic)(dmso)](OSO2CF3) (2 and 3, respectively; tpy is 2,2':6',2"-terpyridine; Mepic is 6-methyl-2-pyridinecarboxylate; dmso is dimethyl sulfoxide) and cis-[Ru(tpy)(Brpic)(dmso)](PF6) (4; Brpic is 6-bromo-2-pyridinecarboxylate) were prepared and characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, electrochemistry, NMR, IR, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The geometry labels refer to the relationship between the carboxylate oxygen of the picolinate ligand and dmso. Electrochemical studies reveal that only the trans isomer shows S-to-O isomerization following oxidation of Ru(II) and O-to-S isomerization following reduction of Ru(III). The cis isomers of both complexes feature reversible one-electron Ru(III/II) couples. All complexes undergo phototriggered S-to-O isomerization following MLCT (metal-to-ligand charge transfer) excitation with quantum yields (Phi(S-->O)) of 0.79 (2), 0.011 (3), and 0.014 (4). The methyl group in 2 promotes isomerization by hindering rotation of the dmso ligand about the Ru-S bond. Computational results support this role for the methyl group. Relative energy calculations show that the barrier to rotation is approximately 8 kcal mol(-1). These results suggest that rotation is an important vibration for isomerization in photochromic ruthenium-dmso complexes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Rachford
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: Jeffrey J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Rack