A novel non-metathetic behavior of Grubbs catalyst: Ruthenium-mediated intramolecular [3 + 2] cycloaddition of bis-1,3-dienes

Abstract A ruthenium-mediated intramolecular [3 + 2] cycloaddition of bis-1,3-dienes to give bicyclic products, which is a novel non-metathetic behavior of Grubbs catalyst, is reported. The formation of a ruthenium–olefin complex is proposed to be a key step for the success of the reaction.