The first double oxidative addition of CH2Cl2 to a metal complex: facile synthesis of [Ru(CH2)Cl2{P(C6H11) 3}2]

[Ru(H) 2 (H 2 ) 2 L 2 ] [L = P(C 6 H 11 ) 3 ] serves as a formal source of zerovalent ‘RuL 2 ’, and undergoes unprecedented oxidative addition of both C–Cl bonds of CH 2 Cl 2 to a single metal center, providing a convenient synthesis of the alkene metathesis catalyst [Ru(CH 2 )Cl 2 L 2 ].