Grubbs, Robert H., The Olefin Metathesis Reaction

Gratzel, M., see Gerfin, T. Gray, Harry B., see Bowler, Bruce E. Green, Malcom L. H., see Brooldiart, Maurice Green, Michael R., see Burstein, Bruce E. Grove, David M., see Janssen, Maurits D. Grubbs, Robert H., The Olefin Metathesis Reaction 24 1... 

The 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was jointly awarded to Robert H. Grubbs (Caltech), Yves Chauvin (French Petroleum Institute), and Richard R. Schrock (MIT) for establishing olefin metathesis as a reaction of synthetic versatility and contributing to an understanding of the mechanism of this novel process. Olefin metathesis first surfaced in the late 1950s when industrial researchers found that alkenes underwent a novel reaction when passed over a heated bed of mixed metal oxides. Propene, for example, was converted to a mixture of ethylene and 2-butene (cis + trans). 

In Section 24.12, we introduced alkene (olefin) metathesis, i.e. metal-catalysed reactions in which C=C bonds are redistributed. The importance of alkene and alkyne metathesis was recognized by the award of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis . Examples of alkene metathesis are shown in Figure 27.3. The Chauvin mechanism for metal-catalysed alkene metathesis involves a metal alkyli-dene species and a series of [2 + 2]-cycloadditions and cycloreversions (Figure 27.4). Scheme 27.6 shows the mechanism for alkyne metathesis which involves a high oxidation state metal alkylidyne complex, L M=CR. 

Olefin metathesis ( metathesis from the Greek change of position, transposition ) [1] is a key reaction in organic synthesis because it allows preparation of molecules that are crucial to promote advances in medicine, biology and materials science. The importance of this reaction was demonstrated by the award of the 2005 Nobel Prize in chemistry to Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs, and Richard R. Schrock for elucidation of the reaction mechanisms and discovery of various highly efficient and selective catalysts related to metathesis [2]. 

Incoronata Tritto studied stereospecific olefin polymerization in the group of Prof. Adolfo Zambelli at the Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry of the CNR and received her degree in polymer science at the Specialization School Giulio Natta at Politecnico di Milan (Italy) in 1981. In 1982, she joined as permanent researcher the Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry of the CNR In 1988, she spent 1 year in the group of Prof. Robert H. Grubbs at Caltech (USA), where she studied the relationship between metathesis and addition olefin polymerization. She is currently a senior research chemist at ISMAC-CNR. Her research interests focus on (1) synthesis and microstmctural characterization of stereospecific olefin and cyclic olefin homo- and copolymers by transition metal catalysts (2) activation and deactivation reactions ofthe homogeneous catalytic systems by in situ multinuclearNMR analysis and (3) synthesis of block copolymers and nanostructured hybrid polymers, in situ polymerization on clay and carbon nanotubes. 

In the year 2005, Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs, and Riehard R. Schrock for the development of the metathesis method in organie synthesis [41-43], It is a general view that, this reaction revolutionized different fields of synthetic chemistry. Chauvin proposed the carbene mechanism to explain this reaction [44] and Schrock prepared the first well-defined highly active metathesis catalysts [45], while, Grubbs developed ruthenium based active and air stable catalysts, which are tolerant to various functional groups in the presence of olefins [46]. 

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