Complexes of Ruthenium II from Dimethylformamide

Submitted by P. SERF, M. HERNANDEZ,t and P. KALCK Checked by JOSHUA H. HOYNE and JOHN R. SHAPLEY  

Here we describe the easy synthesis of [Ru(CO)2Cl3(DMF)] . This compound is produced by the reaction of RuCl3 xH20 with the carbon monoxide generated in situ by the decarbonylation of the solvent, dimethylformamide, in the presence of dry HCl. As an illustration, this intermediate is then used to prepare a triphenylphosphine derivative, namely, cis, cis, fra i-Ru(CO)2Cl2(PPh3)2.  

Laboratoire de Catalyse Chimie Fine et Polymeres, Ecole Nationale Superieure d Ingenieurs en Arts Chimiques et Technologies, 118 Route de Narbonne, Toulouse 31077, France. tDepartamento de Quimica Inorganica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valladolid, Calle Prado de la Magdalena, 47005 Valladolid, Spain. 

Dimethylformamide (99.8%), mthenium chloride hydrate (RUCI3 XH2O, 35 0% Ru), hydrogen chloride (4 M solution in 1,4-dioxane), and triphenyl-phosphine (99%) are purchased from Aldrich and used as received. DMF is conveniently dried with activated 4-A molecular sieves. As RUCI3 XH2O is a hygroscopic salt, it should be handled only briefly under ambient conditions. 

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