Well‐Defined Ruthenium Complex for Acceptorless Alcohol Dehydrogenation in Aqueous Medium

Synthesis of a water soluble ruthenium complex bearing PNP‐pincer ligand has been described. The complex in presence of KOBut was found to be efficient catalyst for the acceptorless alcohol dehydrogenation (AAD) in aqueous medium. This selective synthetic protocol transforms secondary alcohols to ketones and primary alcohols to aldehydes without formation of any unwanted side products and produces only hydrogen as the sole by‐product. Water soluble ruthenium complex [RuCl2(PPh3)(2,6‐Py‐(CH2‐PTA)2].2Br (1) derived from PNP pincer ligand was synthesized and characterized. Complex 1 in presence of KOBut was found to be efficient catalyst for the acceptorless alcohol dehydrogenation in aqueous medium.