Ruthenium—Arene Complexes Derived from NHC∙CO2 and NHC∙CS2 Zwitterionic Adducts and Their Use in Olefin Metathesis

A range of imidazol(in)ium-2-carboxylates and -dithiocarboxylates bearing alkyl or aryl groups on their nitrogen atoms were prepared by reacting the corresponding N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) with either carbon dioxide or carbon disulfide. All the zwitterionic products were characterized by various analytical techniques, including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Their ability to act as NHC ligand precursors for in situ catalytic applications was investigated in the ruthenium-promoted ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of cyclo-octene. Upon exposure to the [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2 dimer, the NHC CO2 adducts readily dissociated to generate [RuCl2(p-cymene)(NHC)] complexes that were highly active catalyst precursors for olefin metathesis. Conversely, the NHC CS2 betaines retained their zwitterionic nature and led to new cationic complexes of the [RuCl(p-cymene)(NHC CS2)]+PF6 − type that were devoid of any significant catalytic activity in the reaction under consideration