Syntheses and characterization of ruthenium(II) tetrakis(pyridine) complexes. An advanced coordination chemistry experiment or mini-project

An experiment which involves the synthesis and characterization of several coordination complexes of ruthenium, the element found directly beneath iron in the middle of the d-block of the periodic table is presented. This experiment is designed for third-year undergraduate students and provides synthetic experience and qualitative interpretation of the spectroscopic properties of the ruthenium complexes. The intention is to demonstrate how physicochemical techniques commonly applied to purely organic compounds can also give useful information about organotransition metal complexes.