The interaction of unsaturated C8-ring systems with ruthenium carbonyl clusters

Abstract

The reactions of [Ru3(CO)12] with cyclooctene and cyclooctatetraene have been shown to proceed via different reaction pathways; cyclooctene, C8H14, causes cluster build-up with dehydrogenation of the ligand resulting in the formation of the hexaruthenium cyclooctyne carbido-cluster, [Ru6C(CO)15(μ3-η1:η1:η2-C8H12)] 2, whereas cyclooctatetraene, C8H8, results in cluster degradation with the formation of a binuclear complex [Ru2(CO)5(μ2-η4:η4-C8H8)] 3. Both species have been characterised by spectroscopic methods and their molecular structures established in the solid-state by single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses.