Studies of the decomposition of the ethylene hydrophenylation catalyst TpRu(CO)(NCMe)Ph

TpRu(CO)(NCMe)Ph is an active catalyst for ethylene hydrophenylation. Studies demonstrate that deactivation of TpRu(CO)(NCMe)Ph is the result of competing pathways, one that is likely second order in catalyst and forms NMR silent and presumably paramagnetic species and a second that results from ethylene C-H activation to form TpRu(CO)(η3-C4H7).149