Creutz–Taube complex

The ion is named after Carol Creutz, who first prepared the complex, and her thesis advisor Henry Taube, who received a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this and related discoveries on electron transfer.

[1][2] The complex consists of two pentammineruthenium units linked to the nitrogen atoms in a bridging pyrazine ligand, which completes the octahedral coordination sphere of each metal.

The fact that the oxidation states are half-integer indicates that the two Ru(NH3)5 centers are equivalent in terms of their number of electrons.

[3][4] Characteristic of a mixed-valence complex, this ion strongly absorbs light in the near-infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

[3] The Creutz–Taube ion illustrates the advantages of ruthenium complexes for examining redox reactions.