Ruthenium-catalyzed cyclizations of enynes via a ruthenacyclopentene intermediate: development of three novel cyclizations controlled by a substituent on alkyne of enyne.

Three novel ruthenium-catalyzed cyclizations of enynes were developed. In each cyclization, a ruthenacyclopentene derived from enyne and Cp*RuCl(cod) is a common intermediate. When an enyne having an alkyl, an ester, or a formyl group on an alkyne was reacted with Cp*RuCl(cod) under ethylene gas, ethylene was inserted into the ruthenium-sp(2) carbon bond of ruthenacyclopentene to afford ruthenacycloheptene, and β-hydrogen elimination followed by reductive elimination occurred to give a cyclic compound having a 1,3-diene moiety. When an acyl group was placed on the alkyne, the carbonyl oxygen coordinated to the ruthenium metal of ruthenacyclopentene to produce a ruthenium carbene complex, which reacted with ethylene to give a cyclic compound having a cyclopropane ring on the substituent. On the other hand, when the substituent on the alkyne was pent-4-enyl, insertion of an alkene part into ruthenacyclopentene followed by reductive elimination gave a tricyclic compound by a ruthenium-catalyzed [2+2+2] cyclization of diene and an alkyne.