Pyrazine-functionalized Ru(II)-complexes as visible-light activated photobases

Excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) roots in significantly increased acidities or basicities of up to ca. 10 pKa units in the excited-state compared to the ground-state. While organic photobases are either of “single use” in case of photobase generators or are limited functionally by their UV absorption, metal complex based photobases offer intriguing properties. By exciting the characteristic metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transitions in the visible range, multiple and reversible ESPT processes can be triggered. In this contribution we present the synthesis of two novel Ru(II)-complexes with pyrazine-functionalized polypyridyl ligands and study their photobasic properties by ultrafast spectroscopy. We find that MLCT excitation in aqueous solution leads to a ΔpKa of 9 units and that the involved ESPT process takes place within ca. 300 ps. Our investigations combine experimental spectroscopy with theoretical calculations.