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Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Heterogeneous Removal of Water-Soluble Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalyst from Aqueous Media Via Host-Guest Interaction
Published on: August 23, 2018
Highly Cooperative Tetrametallic Ruthenium-mu-Oxo-mu-Hydroxo Catalyst for the Alcohol Oxidation Reaction
Chae S Yi1, Tonya N Zeczycki, Ilia A Guzei
1Department of Chemistry, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-1881, and Molecular Structure Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1396.
Abstract:
The tetrametallic ruthenium-oxo-hydroxo-hydride complex {[(PCy(3))(CO)RuH](4)(mu(4)-O)(mu(3)-OH)(mu(2)-OH)} (1) was synthesized in two steps from the monomeric complex (PCy(3))(CO)RuHCl (2). The tetrameric complex 1 was found to be a highly effective catalyst for the transfer dehydrogenation of alcohols. Complex 1 showed a different catalytic activity pattern towards primary and secondary benzyl alcohols, as indicated by the Hammett correlation for the oxidation reaction of p-X-C(6)H(4)CH(2)OH (rho = -0.45) and p-X-C(6)H(4)CH(OH)CH(3) (rho = +0.22) (X = OMe, CH(3), H, Cl, CF(3)). Both a sigmoidal curve from the plot of initial rate vs [PhCH(OH)CH(3)] (K(0.5) = 0.34 M; Hill coefficient, n = 4.2+/-0.1) and the phosphine inhibition kinetics revealed the highly cooperative nature of the complex for the oxidation of secondary alcohols.
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