CARBONYLATION OF BENZYNE AT POLYNUCLEAR RUTHENIUM CENTERS

Carbonylation (1 atm, 25-degrees-C) of [Ru3(CO)7(mu-PPh2)2(mu-3-C6H4)] gives [Ru3(CO)8(mu-PPh2)2(mu-3-C6H4CO)], arising from linking of mu-3-benzyne with one molecule of CO, while [Ru4(CO)11(mu-4-PPh)(mu-4-C6H4)] and [Ru5(CO)13(mu-4-PPh)(mu-5-C6H4)] react with CO (50 atm, 60-100-degrees-C) to afford [Ru3(CO)10(mu-3-PPh){mu-C6H4(CO)2}] and/or [Ru2(CO)7{mu-P(Ph)C(O)C6H4}], involving linking of mu-4- and mu-5-benzyne with one or two CO molecules; the structures of the products have been established by X-ray diffraction.