Analytical study of rhenium complexes with pyrogallol and catechol

Selected rhenium complexes with pyrogallol (1,2,3-trihydroxybenzene) and catechol (1,2-dihydroxybenzene) as strongly bound ligands were prepared by a reaction of rhenium precursor tetrabutylammonium-tetrachlorooxorhenate with twofold molar excess of ligand in presence of various amounts of triethylamine. The structures of formed complexes and their consequent reaction products were estimated by means of mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization. The kinetics of reactions in course of complex formation and consequent decomposition were primarily followed by UV–Vis absorption spectra measurement, complemented by single or continuous electrospray mass spectrometry analyses.