Model compounds for olefin metathesis intermediates: Synthesis and characterization of ruthenium-olefin complexes

Recent studies from our group have led to a better understanding of the mechanism of ruthenium-mediated olefin metathesis, including the dissociative nature of initiation and the influence of neutral ligands on initiation rates. However, little is known about the orientation and site of olefin binding. We have synthesized and characterized by NMR and X-ray crystallog. ruthenium-olefin complexes as model compds.; our initial results will be presented.