Irreversible rearrangement of half-sandwich ruthenium hydrido-alkynyl complexes to their vinylidene isomers

Abstract

The complex [(C₅Me₅)RuCl(dippe)](dippe = l,2-bis(diisopropylphosphino)ethane) reacts with alk-1-ynes in MeOH in the presence of NaBPh₄ yielding the metastable hydrido-alkynyl derivatives [(C₅Me₅)Ru(H)(CCR)(dippe)][BPh₄](R = CO₂Me, SiMe₃ or Ph), intermediates in the formation of the corresponding vinylidene complexes, to which these compounds rearrange both in solution and in the solid state.