A New 2-[2-(Diphenylphosphino)ethyl]pyridine-Ruthenium(II) Complex as an Efficient Pre-catalyst for Oxidation of Alcohol at Room Temperature in Aqueous Medium

A ruthenium(II) complex [RuCl2{η2-(P,N)PPh2Etpy}(PPh3)2] (1) was synthesized by reacting RuCl2(PPh3)3 with ligand 2-[2-(diphenyl-phosphino)ethyl]pyridine (PPh2Etpy) in 1:1 molar ratio in dichloromethane under refluxing condition. The complex was characterized by FT-IR, UV-vis, 1H and 31P{1H} NMR, ESI(+) mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, conductivity measurement, TGA-DTG and cyclic voltammetry. Complex 1 was found to exhibit good catalytic activity towards the oxidation of aromatic alcohols to corresponding carbonyl compounds with H2O2/NaOCl as an oxidant in water. The maximum conversion of 89% can be achieved under mild reaction conditions.