Isomerization of di- and multifunctional allyl compounds catalyzed by ruthenium and rhodium complexes

A method was developed for the isomerization of a series of di- and multifunctional allyl compounds (e.g. triallylamine, diallylamines, N,N-diallylamides, diallylsilanes, tetraallyloxysilane, triallyioxyboron, triallyl ortho-eaters, 1,4-di- and 1,3,5-triallyloxybenzene) to the corresponding 1-propenyl derivatives. The catalysts of these reactions were the ruthenium complexes: Ru(CO)(3)L-2, RuCl(H)(CO)L-3, RuCl2L3, RuCl2L3 + NaBH4, RuH2L4 and RhH(CO)L-3 (L = PPh3). The reactions were usually carried out under mild conditions in solvents or with no solvent. The products of the reactions were found to be (Z)-1-propenylisomers mainly or almost exclusively, with high or quantitative yields. The ruthenium complexes were not observed to catalyze the isomerization reactions of allyl systems which contain strongly coordinating nitrogen atoms not shielded by large groups. The solvents with an active hydrogen atom were found to inhibit the isomerization catalyzed by hydride complexes.