Reactions of (η5-C9H7)Rh(η2-C2H4)2 (1) with quinones were investigated. Substitution of the labile ethylene ligands was observed upon addition of either duroquinone (2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-benzoquinone) or 1,4-benzoquinone to complex 1. The molecular structure of neutral (η5-C9H7)Rh(2,3,5,6-C6O2(CH3)4) (3), determined by X-ray diffraction, shows that the duroquinone ligand lies in a plane nearly parallel to the indenyl group. The carbonyl moieties of duroquinone lie in a plane incorporating Rh, C2, and the midpoint between C3a and C7a of the indenyl ring. The slip parameter (Δ= d(average Rh-C3a,7a) -d(average Rh-C1,3)) was calculated to be 0.112(2) Å; whereas a value of ca. 0.05 Å had been obtained previously from film data. Values for the hinge angle (HA = angle between normals to the least-squares planes defined by C1, C2, C3 and C1, C7a, C3a, C3) and fold angle (FA = angle between normals to the least-squares planes defined by C1, C2, C3 and C3a, C4, C5, C7, C7a) are 7.2° and 4.0°, respectively.Key words: indenyl, rhodium, quinones, ring-slippage, ground-state distortion.