trans-Bis(2,2′-bipyridine)dichloridoruthenium(II)

Abstract

In the title compound, [RuCl2(C10H8N2)2], the Ru atom is located on a crystallographic inversion center. The bipyridine (bpy) ligands are thus coordinated trans, leading to steric interactions between pairs of opposite ortho‐H atoms. The result is a marked deviation from the expected planarity of some units; the two pyridine rings of an individual bpy ligand enclose a 23.8 (1)° angle. With the RuN4 plane, the same pyridine rings enclose angles of 22.3 (1) and 21.0 (1)°. The octahedral environment of the Ru atom, however, is not markedly distorted, with the Ru—Cl axis enclosing a 87.32 (6)° angle with the RuN4 plane. In the crystal structure, the most significant intermolecular interaction, besides the expected π stacking [3.424 (3) Å perpendicular distance of parallel‐stacked rings, and 3.389 (3) Å closest ring–atom distance for an inclined contact], is a weak C—H...Cl hydrogen bond.