A 14-electron ruthenium hydride: the key intermediate in the synthesis of ruthenium carbene complexes; X-ray structure of [RuHCl(PPri3)2]

A simple one-pot procedure for the synthesis of ruthenium benzylidenes (Grubbs' catalyst) has been developed in which a novel, highly reactive 14-electron ruthenium monohydride, prepared from [RuCl2(cod)] and two bulky phosphines in boiling propan-2-ol without the use of hydrogen gas, is reacted with hydrogen chloride, an alkyne and styrene.