Synthesis and characterization of new ruthenium(II) complexes containing coupled di(2-pyridyl) and 1,3-dithiole units

Abstract Two new ruthenium (II) complexes containing coupled di(2-pyridyl) and 1,3-dithiole units, cis -[Ru(Medpydt) 2 (NCS) 2 ] ( 2 , Medpydt = dimethyl 2-(di(2-pyridyl)methylene)-1,3-dithiole-4,5-dicarboxylate) and cis -[Ru(H 2 dpydt) 2 (NCS) 2 ] ( 3 , H 2 dpydt = 2-(di(2-pyridyl)methylene)-1,3-dithiole-4,5-dicarboxylate), have been synthesized and characterized. The structure of complex 2 has been determined by X-ray crystallography. There exist intermolecular H-bonding interactions between carbomethoxy groups on neighboring pyridine rings giving rise to 2D H-bonded arrays. The metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) absorptions were observed around 480 nm. Redox properties of ruthenium complexes have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry. Solar cells involving thin films of anatase TiO 2 impregnated with cis -[Ru(H 2 dpydt) 2 (NCS) 2 ] were prepared, and the photovoltaic performance was preliminarily investigated.