Metathesis catalyst system

Gloeosporone Development of a Binary Metathesis Catalyst System... 

Most recently it has been demonstrated that classical metathesis catalyst systems such as those shown above are capable of inducing ADMET condensation chemistry [34]. These classical systems, 15 and 16, are precursors to actual metal carbenes, and they must be activated with the presence of an alkylating agent such as tetrabutyltin or tributyltin hydride. The ADMET condensation chemistry proceeds at a reasonable rate and high molecular weight polymers can be obtained. 

Polycycloolefins are prepared by ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) using transition metal catalysts [31], By far the most commonly studied monomer is dicyclopenta-diene (Fig. 1.7). Cycloolefins with high ring strains like norbomenes and their analogs polymerize very fast and the polymerizations are quite exothermic. Metathesis catalyst systems tend to be sensitive to the presence of polar compounds and the polymerization rates... 

Among the first 18-electron (18e) Fischer-type metal carbene complexes to be used as part of an olefin metathesis catalyst system were W[=C(OMe)Et](CO)5 with BU4NCI (for pent-l-ene)79, and W[=C(OEt)Bu](CO)5 with TiCLt (for cyclopentene)80. These complexes may also be activated thermally, e.g. for the polymerization of alkynes81, or photochemically, e.g. for the ROMP of cycloocta-1,5-diene82. The essential requirement is that a vacancy be created at the metal centre to allow the substrate to enter the coordination sphere. Occasionally the substrate may itself be able to displace one of the CO ligands. 

These 1987 resnlts concluded that classical metathesis catalyst systems were not sufficient and that Lewis acid cocatalyst-free systems were necessary if successM ADMET condensation polymerization were to become a reality. The key to snccessM ADMET polymerization was demonstrated " nsing the Lewis acid-free tungsten alkylidene metathesis catalyst (5a), the structure of which had been reported by Schrock et just one year earlier. When this... 

The above examples demonstrate the utility of the ruthenium-based metathesis catalyst systems in the synthesis of complex, highly functionalized molecules. 

Of particular interest is the fact that many olefin metathesis catalyst systems are of the Ziegler—Natta type. This raises the question of the relationship between the mechanism of olefin metathesis and that of Ziegler-Natta polymerization this aspect is discussed in Ch. 4. 

The first stable carbene complex to be used as part of a metathesis catalyst system. Highly stereospecific to give cis products. 

The latest (1980) commercial application of olefin metathesis is Phillips Neohexene Process ( ). Neohexene, an intermediate in the synthesis of a perfume musk, is produced by cross-metathesis of diisobutylene with ethylene (i,e., ethylene cleavage) over a bifunctional (double-bond isomerization/metathesis) catalyst system (Figure 7) ... 

Scheme 4 Hypothetical generation of a carbene complex from a traditional metathesis catalyst system.

Only two of the many Mo-based heterogeneous metathesis catalyst systems have been reported to bring about the metathesis of functionalized olefins, viz. MoCl5/Si02/R4Sn (R = Me, Et) [15] and Mo03/Si02, photoreduced at room temperature in a CO atmosphere, then activated with cyclopropane. The latter system has been systematically studied. 

The "equibinary" l,4-cis/l,4-trans polybutadiene prepared using a n-allyl nickel trifluoroacetate catalyst [70,71,96,97] and the polybutadiene obtained by polymerization of cyclooctadiene using an olefin metathesis catalyst system where shown by nmr to have random distributions of cis- and trans-ianits, although there is some indication that "equibinary" copolymers with non-Bernoullian structures are obtained in some cases [96]. Polybutadienes prepared using alkyl lithium initiators in hydrocarbon solvents have also been shown to have random distributions of 1,4-cis and 1,4-trans units [20,23,71,90]. 

Typical Examples of Catalyst Systems for the Homogeneous Metathesis of Pentene... 

Because in metathesis reactions with most catalyst systems a selectivity of nearly 100% is found, a carbene mechanism seems less likely. Banks and Bailey ( ) reported the formation of small quantities of C3-C6-alkenes, cyclopropane, and methylcyclopropane when ethene was passed over Mo(CO)6-A1203, which suggests reactions involving carbene complexes. However, similar results have not been reported elsewhere most probably the products found by Banks and Bailey were formed by side reactions, typical for their particular catalyst system. 

The above studies are consistent with the hypothesis that the metathesis reaction itself brings about cis-trans isomerization (46). This hypothesis is further supported by the results of a kinetic study of the reactions of the three linear butenes on the metathesis catalyst Mo(CO)6-A1203 by Davie et al. (107), who concluded that cis-trans isomerization for their system is a bimolecular reaction. 

The preferred kinetic model for the metathesis of acyclic alkenes is a Langmuir type model, with a rate-determining reaction between two adsorbed (complexed) molecules. For the metathesis of cycloalkenes, the kinetic model of Calderon as depicted in Fig. 4 agrees well with the experimental results. A scheme involving carbene complexes (Fig. 5) is less likely, which is consistent with the conclusion drawn from mechanistic considerations (Section III). However, Calderon s model might also fit the experimental data in the case of acyclic alkenes. If, for instance, the concentration of the dialkene complex is independent of the concentration of free alkene, the reaction will be first order with respect to the alkene. This has in fact been observed (Section IV.C.2) but, within certain limits, a first-order relationship can also be obtained from many hyperbolic models. Moreover, it seems unreasonable to assume that one single kinetic model could represent the experimental results of all systems under consideration. Clearly, further experimental work is needed to arrive at more definite conclusions. Especially, it is necessary to investigate whether conclusions derived for a particular system are valid for all catalyst systems. 

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