Preparation of Ruthenium Dithiolene Complex/Polysiloxane Films and Their Responses to CO Gas

To develop advanced materials using metal complexes, it is better to prepare metal complexes contained in composite or hybrid films. To achieve this purpose, we synthesized ruthenium complexes with dihalogen-substituted benzendithiolate ligands, [(η(6)-C(6)Me(6))Ru(S(2)C(6)H(2)X(2))] (X = F, 3,6-Cl, Br, 4,5-Cl), 1b–1e. We also investigated preparation of 1c or 1e containing polysiloxane composite films and their reactivity to CO gas. All ruthenium complexes 1b–1e reacted with CO gas, and carbonyl ligand adducts 2b–2e were generated. Ruthenium complexes 1b–1e show two strong absorption peaks around 550 and 420 nm. After exposure to CO gas, these absorption peaks were immediately decreased without a peak shift. A similar trend was observed in 1c or 1e containing polysiloxane composite films. These results indicate that 1c and 1e were easily converted into 2c and 2e, both in the solution and the polysiloxane film during CO gas exposure.