Ruthenium-Catalyzed Isomerization of Allylic Alcohols to Saturated Ketones

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4039(00)73934-7

Highly efficient ruthenium-catalyzed isomerization of allylic alcohols to ketones have been developed.A dramatic rate enhancement by the presence of a catalytic amount of base was observed in the isomerization catalyzed by either RuCl2(PPh3) (3) or 2 (4).Dimetallic catalyst 5, which can itself serve as a base, led to a rapid reaction without the addition of extra base.