Kinetics and mechanistic insights into the acetate-assisted dimerization of terminal alkynes under Ruthenium- and Acid-Promoted (RAP) catalysis

The mechanism of the dimerization of terminal aryl alkynes promoted by [{RuCl(μ-Cl)(η6-p-cymene)}2](1)/AcOH, under cooperative transition metal/Brønsted acid catalysis, has been investigated with regard to (i) the activation of the dinuclear ruthenium complex and (ii) the catalytic formation of the trans-1,4-diaryl-1,3-enyne products, by a detailed kinetic investigation of both processes. Complex 1 is subject to a slow solvolytic process in neat acetic acid or is transformed rapidly in the presence of sodium acetate to form the monomeric ruthenium(II) acetato complex [RuCl(η6-p-cymene)(OAc)]. The latter is the active catalytic species promoting the alkyne dimerization process, via initial π-alkyne coordination and intramolecular C-H abstraction by the acetate ligand, as key steps of the catalytic cycle. The presence of additive acetate salts allows for the reaction to proceed at room temperature with short reaction times and high trans/cis stereoselectivity, thus rendering this catalytic system among the most active and selective procedures for the dimerization of terminal alkynes in a protic medium. The linear coupling of three molecules of phenylacetylene affords an organometallic ruthenium complex featuring a butenynyl ligand which has been characterized by X-ray crystallography.