Reactions of dodecacarbonyltriruthenium with oxadienes

The results of the studies of thermal reactions of Ru3(CO)12 with oxadienes (4′-methylchalcone and benzylideneacetone) have been surveyed. The reactions yield a number of hitherto unknown bi- and polynuclear complexes, whose structures were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis, NMR, and IR spectroscopy. The complexes obtained contain η3-coordinated structural moieties,viz., five-membered chelate oxaruthena rings and/or dihydropyranyl rings. The fundamental differences in the chemical behavior of Ru and Fe carbonyls in the reactions with oxadienes and the differences between the reactions of Ru carbonyls with oxa- and azadienes have been discussed.