Applications of pulsed field gradient spin-echo measurements for the determination of molecular volumes of organometallic ionic complexes †

1H and 19F Pulsed Field Gradient Spin-Echo (PGSE) measurements on a selection of ruthenium(II) organometallic arene complexes have been made. 19F provides a useful complement to the classical 1H measurements and is especially valuable in the absence of suitable protons and/or overlap of signals from different compounds with similar size. This methodology for estimating molecular size of ionic complexes represents an alternative to classical methods in organometallic chemistry. One complex is shown to have a molecular volume which corresponds to a tight ion pair.