Cationic carbonyl complexes of ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) containing 2,2′-bipyridyl and 1,10-phenanthroline

Reactions of ruthenium carbonyl complexes of the type [RuX2(CO)(Ph2RAs)3] (X=Cl or Br; R=Me or Et) with 2,2′-bipyridyl (bipy) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) in alcohol produce orange red cationic products of the formula [RuX(CO)(N-N)(Ph2RAs)2]ClO4 (N-N=bipy or phen). Likewise, the hydridocarbonyls of ruthenium and osmium of the type [MHX(CO)(Ph2RAs)3] (M=Ru or Os) react with bipy and phen to yield yellow cationic complexes of the composition [(MH(CO)(N-N)(Ph2RAs)2]ClO4. Structures have been assigned to all the complexes on the basis of i.r. and1 H n.m.r. spectral data.