The synthesis of
a new Ru
II
-based water oxidation catalyst
is presented, in which a nitrophenyl group is introduced into the
backbone of dpp via a pH-sensitive imidazole bridge (dpp = 2,9-di-(2′-pyridyl)-1,10-phenanthroline).
This modification had a pronounced effect on the photophysical properties
and led to the appearance of a significant absorption band around
441 nm in the UV–vis spectrum upon formation of the monoprotonated
species under neutral conditions. Theoretical investigations could
show that the main contributions to this band arise from transitions
involving the imidazole and nitrophenyl motif, allowing us to determine
the p
K
a
value (6.8 ± 0.1) of the
corresponding, twofold protonated conjugated acid. In contrast, the
influence of the nitrophenyl group on the electrochemical properties
of the catalytic center was negligible. Likewise, the catalytic performance
of Ru(dppip-NO
2
) and its parent complex Ru(dpp) was comparable
over the entire investigated pH range (dppip-NO
2
= 2-(4-nitrophenyl)-6,9-di(pyridin-2-yl)-1
H
-imidazo[4,5-
f
][1,10]phenanthroline).
This allowed the original catalytic properties to be retained while
additionally featuring a functionalized ligand scaffold, which provides
further modification opportunities as well as the ability to report
the pH of the catalytic solution via UV–vis spectroscopy.