CO substitution in HRu3(CO)10(μ-COMe) by the unsaturated diphosphine ligand 4,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)-4-cyclopenten-1,3-dione (bpcd): Synthesis and reactivity studies of the face-capped cluster Ru3(CO)7(μ3-COMe)[μ-P(Ph)CC(PPh2)C(O)CH2C(O)]

Thermolysis of HRu3(CO)10(μ-COMe) (1) with the unsaturated diphosphine ligand 4,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)-4-cyclopenten-1,3-dione (bpcd) affords the bpcd-chelated cluster HRu3(CO)8(μ-COMe)(bpcd) (2), which is unstable and transforms into the face-capped cluster Ru3(CO)7(μ3-COMe)[μ-P(Ph)CC(PPh2)C(O)CH2C(O)] (4). The kinetics for the conversion of 2 to 4 have been investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy, and the reactivity of 4 with H2, PPh3, and PMe3 has been investigated, with the resulting triruthenium product clusters fully characterized in solution and X-ray crystallography.