Synthesis and Characterization of bis-(Diimine)-Carbonyl-Alkyl-Osmium(II) Complexes
Elise G. Megehee, Department of Chemistry, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Abstract: As a part of an ongoing project on the synthesis and spectroscopic studies of osmium compounds with interesting electrochemical and photochemical properties, my students and I have synthesized a series bis-(diimine)-carbonyl osmium(II) complexes containing alkyl ligands such as methyl, ethyl, butyl and isopropyl. Our synthesis of these complexes yields both cis- and trans-isomers, which are isolated and which have their own individual electrochemical, photochemical, and emission properties. We have begun the characterization of these compounds by cyclic voltammetry, 1H NMR, and UV-visible absorbance spectroscopies. These compounds are of interest as possible models of the photosynthetic reaction center, as energy transfer agents, as photochemical electron transfer agents, and as precursors for molecular wires.