Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 2, 2026

Heterogeneous Removal of Water-Soluble Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalyst from Aqueous Media Via Host-Guest Interaction
Published on: August 23, 2018
Ruthenium(0)-catalyzed hydroarylation of alkynes via ketone-directed C-H functionalization using in situ-generated
1Department of Chemistry, Rutgers University, 73 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. michal.szostak@rutgers.edu.
Abstract:
A versatile method for the Ru(0)-catalyzed hydroarylation of alkynes using weakly-coordinating ketones enabled by the in situ generation of a Ru(0) catalyst from an air-stable, inexpensive and user-friendly Ru(ii) precatalyst is reported for the first time. The method provides straightforward access to a wide range of functionalized ketone building blocks that would be difficult to access by conventional methods. Most crucially, this report demonstrates for the first time that the in situ generated Ru(0) catalysts advance the classic Ru(0)-catalyzed C-H functionalization platform to substrates that would otherwise be unreactive. Product manipulation and mechanistic studies are reported.
Related Concept Videos
Reduction of Alkynes to cis-Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Like alkenes, alkynes can be reduced to alkanes in the presence of transition metal catalysts such as Pt, Pd, or Ni. The reaction involves two sequential syn additions of hydrogen via a cis-alkene intermediate.
Alkynes to Aldehydes and Ketones: Hydroboration-Oxidation
One of the convenient methods for the preparation of aldehydes and ketones is via hydration of alkynes. Hydroboration-oxidation of alkynes is an indirect hydration reaction in which an alkyne is treated with borane followed by oxidation with alkaline peroxide to form an enol that rapidly converts into an aldehyde or a ketone. Terminal alkynes form aldehydes, whereas internal alkynes give ketones as the final product.
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
Alkynes to Aldehydes and Ketones: Acid-Catalyzed Hydration
Analogous to alkenes, alkynes also undergo acid-catalyzed hydration. While the addition of water to an alkene gives an alcohol, hydration of alkynes produces different products such as aldehydes and ketones.
Electrophilic Addition to Alkynes: Hydrohalogenation
Reduction of Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Metals like palladium, platinum, and nickel are commonly used in their solid forms — fine powder on an inert surface. As these catalysts remain insoluble in the reaction mixture, they are referred to as heterogeneous catalysts.
The hydrogenation process takes place on the...

