Isolation and characterization of the dimetal decacarbonyl dication [Ru2(CO)10]2+ and the metal-only Lewis-pair [Ag{Ru(CO)5}2]+

Abstract

The reaction of Ag⁺ with Ru₃(CO)₁₂ in a CO atmosphere under concommittant irradiation with UV-light yields a salt of the metal-only Lewis-pair [Ag{Ru(CO)₅}₂]⁺. Switching the silver cation for a more process-selective deelectronator yields a salt of the homoleptic transition metal carbonyl cation [Ru₂(CO)₁₀]²⁺, which fills the gap between the known cations [Ru(CO)₆]²⁺ and [Ru₃(CO)₁₄]²⁺. The amount of π-backdonation in this series was studied by a combination of vibrational spectroscopy and computed relaxed force constants.