Activation of a water molecule under mild conditions by ruthenacyclopentatriene: mechanism of hydrative cyclization of diynesElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental procedures, spectroscopic data, and CIF file. CCDC 766961. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI:10.1039/c0cc04345a

A ruthenium cyclic biscarbene complex reacted with a H2O molecule under mild conditions to produce η5-oxapentadienyl complex, that proved to be the intermediate in the catalytic hydrative cyclization of a diyne. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]