Reactions of 1,2,3-triphenyl-1,2,3-triphosphaindan with triruthenium cluster

Abstract

Reactions of 1,2,3-triphenyl-1,2,3-triphosphaindan (I), C6H4(PPh)3, with [Ru3(CO)12] under various conditions result in the rupture of the P3C2-ring framework in the ligand and the cleavage of the M-M bonds in the parent cluster, leading to the formation of a series of phosphido bridged and phosphinidene capped trinuclear or polyhedral ruthenium clusters: a tetra-nuclear butterfly-like cluster [Ru4(CO)10(μ3-PPh)] 1, a tri-nuclear bent-chain skeleton cluster [Ru3(CO)9 {μ3-η3-PPhC6H4(PPh) 2}] 2, and a nonplanar six-atom-raft rhombic geometry cluster [Ru6(CO)12(μ3-PPh)(μ4-PPh) 2(μ3-η2-C6H4)] 3. All compounds have been fully characterized by spectroscopic methods, while the molecular structures of the new compounds 2 and 3 are established by X-ray crystallographic techniques.