(Terpyridine)ruthenium trichloride

(Terpyridine)ruthenium trichloride is the coordination complex with the formula RuCl3(terpy), where terpy is terpyridine. It is a brown paramagnetic solid that is a precursor to other complexes of ruthenium, mainly by substitution of the chloride ligands. The complex has octahedral geometry. The synthesis of this complex was reported for the first time in 1980, it was prepared by mixing ruthenium trichloride and terpyridine in ethanol, heating the mixture to reflux conditions A later synthetic protocol uses a similar approach by heating ruthenium trichloride with a DMF solution of terpyridine.