fac-[RuCl2(DMSO-S)3(n-butylamine)]: Synthesis, structural characterization and dual catalytic performance

Abstract The synthesis, spectroscopic properties and crystal structure of the novel complex fac-[RuCl2(DMSO-S)3(n-butylamine)] (DMSO-S = sulfur-bonded dimethylsulfoxide) have been reported. The coordination environment of the ruthenium atom is best described as a distorted octahedral, where three DMSO ligands occupy one face of the octahedron, while the two chlorido and the amine ligand occupy the other one. The catalytic activity of fac-[RuCl2(DMSO-S)3(n-butylamine)] was probed in two processes, ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The ROMP of norbornene (NBE) was carried out in the presence of ethyl diazoacetate (EDA) for 5 min at 50 °C which afforded yields around 80%. Poly(norbornadiene) was only produced by photoinduced ROMP leading to 27% yield. The catalytic activity for ATRP of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St) for 8 h resulted in 88 and 33%, respectively.