Dedicated to Prof. Antonio Togni on the occasion of his 65th birthday Cationic [Ru(η 5-C 5 H 5)(CH 3 CN) 3 ] + complex, tris(acetonitrile)(cyclopentadienyl)ruthenium(II), gives rise to a very rich organometallic chemistry. Combined with diimine ligands, and 1,10-phenanthroline in particular, this system efficiently catalyzes diazo decomposition processes to generate metal-carbenes which undergo a series of original transformations in the presence of Lewis basic substrates. Herein, syntheses and characterizations of [CpRu(Phen)(L)] complexes with (large) lipophilic non-coordinating (PF 6 À and BAr F À) and coordinating TRISPHAT-N À anions are reported. Complex [CpRu(η 6-naphthalene)][BAr F ] ([1][BAr F ]) is readily accessible, in high yield, by direct counterion exchange between [1][PF 6 ] and sodium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate (NaBAr F) salts. Ligand exchange of [1][BAr F ] in acetonitrile generated stable [Ru(η 5-C 5 H 5)(CH 3 CN) 3 ][BAr F ] ([2][BAr F ]) complex in high yield. Then, the desired [CpRu(Phen)(CH 3 CN)] ([3]) complexes were obtained from either the [1] or [2] complex in the presence of the 1,10-phenanthroline as ligand. For characterization and comparison purposes, the anionic hemilabile ligand TRISPHATÀ N (TTN) was introduced on the ruthenium center, from the complex [3][PF 6 ], to quantitatively generate the desired complex [CpRu(Phen)(TTN)] ([4]) by displacement of the remaining acetonitrile ligand and of the PF 6 À anion. Solid state structures of complexes [1][BAr F ], [2][BAr F ], [3][BAr F ], [3][PF 6 ] and [4] were determined by X-ray diffraction studies and are discussed herein.