Arene ruthenium metallacycles containing chelating thioamide ligands

Cationic, chiral arene ruthenium complexes of the type [Ru(η6-cym)(PPh3){κ2N,S-PhNC(S)R}]BPh4 were prepared in high yields by refluxing a mixture containing [(η6-cym)RuCl2]2, Ph3P, PhNHC(S)R, NaBPh4 and Et3N in MeOH. A series of seven complexes with different thioamide ligands was prepared and fully characterised by spectroscopic methods including NMR spectroscopy and electrospray mass spectrometry. The solid-state structures of two complexes were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction.