A new ruthenium complex with benz[f]indenyl ligand for living radical polymerization

A new ruthenium complex with benz[f]indenyl ligand, (η5-benz[f]indenyl)Ru(PPh3)2Cl (4), was synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis. Complex 4 was examined in comparison with its indenyl analogue (η5-indenyl)Ru(PPh3)2Cl (3) in living radical polymerization of styrene (St) and methyl methacrylate (MMA). Linear increase of molecular weights with conversion and low polydispersities (1.09-1.19 for St, 1.11-1.17 for MMA) were obtained with 4.