Electrochemistry of microparticles of tris(2,2-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) hexafluorophosphate

The electrochemical behaviour of tris(2,2ʹ-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) hexafluorophosphate (Ru(II)) microparticles, immobilised on a graphite electrode and adjacent to an aqueous electrolyte solution, has been studied by cyclic voltammetry and an in situ spectroelectrochemical technique. The solid Ru(II) complex exhibits one reversible redox couple with a formal potential (Ef) of 1.1 V versus Ag|AgCl. The continuous cyclic voltammetric experiments showed that the Ru(II) microparticles are stable during the electrochemical conversions. The in situ spectroelectrochemical study showed that the absorbance at 463 nm decreased due to the oxidation of Ru(II) to Ru(III). Upon reduction, the growth of absorbance at 463 nm was observed due to the formation of Ru(II) complex and this process was reversible.