Reduction of Coordinated Acetonitrile to Ethylamine in a Ruthenium Complex by p-Phenylenediamine or Hydroquinone

A ruthenium complex, [RuII(bbp)(L)(CH3CN)] (1) [bbp = 2,6-bis(benzimidazol-2-yl)pyridine; L = o-phenylenediamine], has been synthesized and characterized by various spectroscopic and analytical techniques as well as by a single-crystal structure. The coordinated acetonitrile is found to be reduced to ethylamine in the presence of p-phenylenediamine or hydroquinone. The reduced product, complex 2, has been characterized by spectroscopic studies and single-crystal structure.