Nucleophilic properties of Ru(Ctriple bond; length of mdashCH)(dppe)Cp∗: Synthesis and structure of Ru{c-Cdouble bond; length as m-dashCArC(O)C(O)O}(dppe)Cp∗ [Ar = 2,4-(NO2)2C6H3]

The complex Ru{c-Cdouble bond; length as m-dashCArC(O)C(O)O}(dppe)Cp∗ [Ar = 2,4-(NO2)2C6H3] 2, containing a dihydrofuran-3,4-dione ligand, was obtained from a reaction between the strong nucleophile Ru(Ctriple bond; length of mdashCH)(dppe)Cp∗ 1 and bis(2,4-dinitrophenyl) oxalate. The X-ray determined molecular structure of 2 is reported, together with a plausible route for its formation.