Simple ruthenium precatalyst for the synthesis of stilbene derivatives and ring-closing metathesis in the presence of styrene initiators

The ruthenium complex RuCl2(p-cymene)(IMes) was found to be an efficient precatalyst, with styrene as an initiating species, for the alkene metathesis of various styrenes into symmetrical and unsymmetrical stilbene derivatives and for the ring-closing metathesis reaction of a sterically hindered olefin leading to a tetrasubstituted cyclo-olefin.