Intermolecular Dehydrative Coupling Reaction of Aryl Ketones with Cyclic Alkenes Catalyzed by a Well-Defined Cationic Ruthenium-Hydride Complex: A Novel Ketone Olefination Method via Vinyl C-H Bond Activation

The cationic ruthenium hydride complex[(eta(6)-C(6)H(6))-(PCy(3))(CO)RuH](+)BF(4)(-) was found to be a highly effective catalyst for the intermolecular olefination reaction of aryl ketones with cycloalkenes. The preliminary mechanistic analysis revealed that an electrophilic ruthenium vinyl complex is the key species fir mediating both vinyl C-H bond activation and the dehydrative olefination steps of the coupling reaction.