Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Half-Sandwich Arene–Ruthenium(II) Complexes with Bis(imidazol-1-yl)methane, Imidazole and Benzimidazole

Mono- and binuclear arene–ruthenium(II) complexes with imidazole-containing ligands were prepared by the reaction of (L1 = bis(imidazole-1-yl)methane; ImH 1H-Imidazole; BImH 1H-Benzimidazole) [(p-cym)Ru(µ-Cl)2]2 dimers. When bis(imidazole-1-yl)methane reacted in methanol, a complex type [Ru2(L1)2(p-cym)2Cl2]Cl2 (2) cyclic structure was synthesized, whereas using acetonitrile as solvent under same conditions, an unexpected C–N bond cleavage observed, formula [Ru(ImH)2(p-cym)Cl]Cl (1) coordinated imidazole molecules obtained. Another arene–ruthenium [Ru(BImH)(p-cym)Cl2] (3) obtained benzimidazole [(p-cym)Ru(µ-Cl)2]2. All compounds characterized spectral (FT-IR, NMR 1H, 13C) single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods; their catalytic activity transfer hydrogenation cytotoxicity against MCF-7 HepG2 cells evaluated.