Molybdenum hexacarbonyl olefin metathesis

The first catalysis of an olefin metathesis reaction was reported by Banks and Bailey in 1964 (56). They reported that activated molybdenum hexacarbonyl on alumina converted propylene, for example, into ethylene and 2-butene at 150°C and 30 atm. Oxides of rhenium are also powerful heterogeneous catalysts. 

Density functional theory studies arene chromium tricarbonyls, 5, 255 beryllium monocyclopentadienyls, 2, 75 chromium carbonyls, 5, 228 in computational chemistry, 1, 663 Cp-amido titanium complexes, 4, 464—465 diiron carbonyl complexes, 6, 222 manganese carbonyls, 5, 763 molybdenum hexacarbonyl, 5, 392 and multiconfiguration techniques, 1, 649 neutral, cationic, anionic chromium carbonyls, 5, 203-204 nickel rj2-alkene complexes, 8, 134—135 palladium NHC complexes, 8, 234 Deoxygenative coupling, carbonyls to olefins, 11, 40 (+)-4,5-Deoxyneodolabelline, via ring-closing diene metathesis, 11, 219... 

Olefin metathesis—the catalytically induced redistribution of alkyli-dene groups between olefins— is a rather recently discovered process. The first example was the conversion of propylene into ethylene and 2-butene in the presence of molybdenum hexacarbonyl on alumina (82). 

As the scope of the reaction increased, the name Olefin Metathesis was introduced by Goodyear, who also pioneered the use of homogeneous catalysts. The reaction had first been recognized during experiments on the development of a heterogeneous catalyst to replace mineral acids in alkylation reactions. Molybdenum hexacarbonyl catalyst supported on alumina produced 2-pentene (40%) from mixed n-butenes together with propylene (51%) and hexene (9%). Tungsten hexacarbonyl was less active than the molybdenum catalyst, and in total contrast, it was found that chromium hexacarbonyl acted as a polymerization catalyst. 

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