Photochemistry and electronic structure of bis(dicarbonyl(.eta.5-cyclopentadienyl)ruthenium) and its iron analog

Abstract : The photochemistry of a number of dinuclear metal-metal bonded organometallic complexes is dominated by cleavage of the metal-metal bond. This chemistry is in accord with lowest excited states which involve the population of an orbital which is strongly antibonding (sigma) with respect to the metal-metal bond. All of the complexes for which detailed studies have been reported involve systems for which the metal-metal bond is not bridged. A number of qualitative observations have been described which strongly implicate symmetrical cleavage reactions of bridged systems subsequent to electronic excitation.