Ruthenium catalysis propargyl alcohol reactions

Highly reactive organic vinylidene and allenylidene species can be stabilized upon coordination to a metal center [1]. In 1979, Bruce et al. [2] reported the first ruthenium vinylidene complex from phenylacetylene and [RuCpCl(PPh3)2] in the presence of NH4PF6. Following this report, various mthenium vinylidene complexes have been isolated and their physical and chemical properties have been extensively elucidated [3]. As the a-carbon of ruthenium vinylidenes and the a and y-carbon of ruthenium allenylidenes are electrophilic in nature [4], the direct formation of ruthenium vinylidene and ruthenium allenylidene species, respectively, from terminal alkynes and propargylic alcohols provides easy access to numerous catalytic reactions since nucleophilic addition at these carbons is a viable route for new catalysis (Scheme 6.1). 

Thiolate-bridged diruthenium complexes such as Cp RuCl(p2-SR)2RuCp Cl catalyze the propargylic substitution reaction of propargylic alcohol derivatives with various carbon-centered nucleophiles [118-120]. Ketones [119] (Eq. 88), aromatic compounds [120] (Eq. 89), or alkenes thus selectively afford the corresponding propargylated products with C-C bond formation. An allenylidene intermediate is proposed in these reactions. They are detailed in the chapter Ruthenium Vinylidenes and Allenylidenes in Catalysis of this volume. 

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