Tetraacetylethane
Tetraacetylethane is the organic compound with the nominal formula [CH(C(O)CH)]. It is a white solid that has attracted interest as a precursor to heterocycles and metal complexes. It is prepared by oxidation of sodium acetylacetonate: Reminiscent of the case of acetylacetone, tetraacetylethane exists as the enol, as established by X-ray crystallography. The two COH rings are twisted with a dihedral angle near 90°. Many metal complexes have been prepared from the conjugate base of this ligand. One example is diruthenium(III) derivative [Ru(acac)][C(C(O)CH)], which is closely related to ruthenium(III) acetylacetonate.