New efficient ruthenium catalysts for racemization of alcohols at room temperature

(η5-Pentaphenylcyclopentadienyl)RuCl(CO)2 was found to catalyze efficiently the racemization of chiral alcohols such as (S)-1-phenylethanol, (S)-1-phenylpropan-2-ol, (S)-4-phenylbutan-2-ol and (S)-4-methoxy-1-phenylethanol at room temperature in the presence of a base. The catalytic activity of three other Ru(II) complexes was also investigated. The effects of halide and solvent were studied as well.