Mechanistic study of thetrans,cis,cis-[RuCl2(DMSO)2(H2O)2] complex photochemistry in aqueous solutions

Abstract

It is known thattrans,cis,cis-[RuCl2(DMSO)2(H2O)2] (1a) complexes, which are formed upon dissolution oftrans-[RuCl2(DMSO)4] in water, demonstrate light-induced cytotoxicity. The mechanistic study of1aphotochemistry has been performed using ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy, laser flash photolysis and stationary photolysis. The first stage of1aphotochemistry is the photoexchange of a DMSO ligand to a water molecule; its quantum yield is wavelength-dependent (estimating by values 0.3 and 0.04 upon irradiation at 308 and 430 nm, respectively). The mechanism of photoexchange is complicated involving at least four Ru(ii) intermediates. Two tentative mechanisms of the process are proposed.