The dicyanamidobenzene-bridge diruthenium complex [{Ru(tpy)(thd)}
2(
-dicyd)][PF
6] ([
3][PF
6]) (dicyd = 1,4-dicyanamidobenzene, tpy = 2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine, thd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione) and its mononuclearcounterpart [Ru(tpy)(thd)(Ipcyd)] (
2) [Ipcyd = 4-iodophenylcyanamide anion (Ipcyd
-)] were synthesized and fullycharacterized. Cyclic voltammetry of
3 showed the presence of four reversible one-electron redox couples. UV-vis-NIR spectroelectrochemistry and EPR spectroscopy of the electrogenerated paramagnetic intermediates wereused to ascertain the oxidation-state distribution. The stable starting dinuclear complex
3+ is found to be a ligand-centered anion radical as shown by EPR spectroscopy, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and DFT calculations.Oxidation of
3+ to
32+ led to an EPR silent system due to substantial intramolecular antiferromagnetic interactionof the electron spins carried by the low spin ruthenium(III) atom and the bridging anion radical dicyanamido (dicyd
-),an observation which was supported by UV-vis-NIR, X-ray structure, and DFT calculations. Complex
33+ presentedan EPR spectra consistent with a total effective spin
S =
1/
2 issued from an antiferromagnetic interaction of electronspins carried by two low spin ruthenium(III) atoms and the bridging anion radical dicyd
- in accordance with UV-vis-NIR. This study shows that the dicyanamidobenzene bridging ligand has indubitably a noninnocent behavior.