N-heterocyclic carbene ruthenium complexes: Synthesis and catalytic properties

peer reviewedSynthesis of imidazol(in)-2-ylidene ruthenium complexes relevant for metathesis and related catalytic processes is described. As an attractive alternative of importance for practical applications, the in situ generation of new NHC ruthenium precatalysts, starting from the easily accessible imidazolium and imidazolinium salts, ruthenium dimer [RuCl2(p-cymene)](2) and a base, is reported in detail. The new NHC family of ruthenium complexes offers great promise as metathesis precatalysts enjoying a wide application profile in organic and polymer synthesis