Hoveyda [1] and later Blechert [2] first reported on stable ruthenacarbenes derived from GrubbsII complexes, in which benzylidene and PCy3 are replaced by a bidentate benzylidene ether ligand.[3] Such complexes combine excellent stability with remarkable catalytic activity in various types of olefin metathesis reactions.[3b, 4] It was claimed, that the initiation step involves dissociation of the benzylidene ether and that following the olefin ...
