Convenient preparation of mononuclear and dinuclear ruthenium hydride complexes for catalytic application

A mixture of commercially available [Ru(cod)(eta(3)-C4H7)(2)] and PCy3 reac ts with H-2 to give [RuH2(H-2)(2)(PCy3)(2)] in high yields, whereas [Ru{Cy2 P(CH2)(3)PCy2}(eta(3)-C4H7)(2)] leads to [{Cy2P(CH2)(3)PCy2}RuH(mu-H)(3)Ru( H-2){Cy2P(CH2)(3)PCy2}] under identical conditions; this new synthetic proc edure provides convenient access to this type of ruthenium hydrides for inv estigation of their potential in catalytic reactions like the Murai-reactio n.