Ruthenium-catalysed oxidative coupling of vinyl derivatives and application in tandem hydrogenation

The first ruthenium-catalyzed oxidative homo- and cross-coupling of exclusive vinyl derivatives giving highly valued 1,3-diene building blocks is reported. The catalytic system is based on readily available reagents and it mainly delivers the E,E isomer. This methodology also enables the synthesis of adipic acid ester derivatives in a one-pot fashion after in situ ruthenium-catalyzed hydrogenation.