The use of porous glass beads in the separation and purification of ruthenium complexes with large organic ligands

For complexes of highly-charged transition metal cations with large organic ligands, the use of glass beads as a chromatographic support allows the ready isolation of analytically pure samples of species which tend to decompose readily on more traditional supports. The method has been used in the purification of binuclear ruthenium complexes which are usually contaminated with a small amount of the monomer, and in the purification of ferrocene-ruthenium complexes which are difficult to separate from polymeric ferrocene residues.