[RuCl(η5-3-phenylindenyl)(PPh3)2] (1) has been shown to be a highly active catalyst for the isomerisation of allylic alcohols to the corresponding ketones. A variety of substrates undergo the transformation, typically with 0.25–0.5 mol% of catalyst at room temperature, outperforming commonly-used complexes such as [RuCl(Cp)(PPh3)2] and [RuCl(η5-indenyl)(PPh3)2]. Mechanistic experiments and density functional theory have been employed to investigate the mechanism and understand the effect of catalyst structure on reactivity. These investigations suggest a oxo-π-allyl mechanism is in operation, avoiding intermediate ruthenium hydride complexes and leading to a characteristic 1,3-deuterium shift. Important mechanistic insights from DFT and experiments also allowed for the design of a protocol that expands the scope of the transformation to include primary allylic alcohols.
[RuCl(η5-3-
苯基
茚基)(PPh3)2] (1) 已被证明是一种高效的
催化剂,用于将
烯丙基醇异构化为相应的
酮。多种底物在室温下以0.25–0.5 mol%的
催化剂量进行转化,其性能优于常用的[RuCl(Cp)(PPh3)2]和[RuCl(η5-
茚基)(PPh3)2]等复合物。通过机制实验和密度泛函理论研究,探讨了反应机制并理解了
催化剂结构对活性的影响。这些研究提示了一种
氧-π-
烯丙基机制,避免了
中间体钌氢复合物的形成,并导致了特征性的1,3-
氘位移。来自DFT和实验的关键机制见解还使得设计了一种协议,将这种转化的应用范围扩展到包括初级
烯丙基醇。