When starting with a rutheniumcomplex [RuCl(2)(p-cymene)](2) as a homogeneous catalyst precursor, induction periods were observed and ruthenium colloids of zero oxidation state were generated under catalytic conditions. Isolated ruthenium colloids carried out the olefination, implying that active catalytic species are ruthenium nanoclusters. To support this hypothesis, ruthenium nanoparticles stabilized
range of organic electrophiles with chelated formate is reported to afford aryl and alkenyl esters by the simultaneous employment of Ru and Pd catalyst, in which ruthenium first promotes chelation-accelerated decarbonylation of formate to release CO and carbinol that are presumed to be transferred, still chelated to Ru, into Pd catalyst, which catalyzes alkoxycarbonylation of the organic electrophiles