Wilkinson, Geoffrey catalyst

Geoffrey Wilkinson Homogeneous hydrogenation of alkenes by (Ph3P)3RhCl (Wilkinson s catalyst)... 

The classic 1961 paper by Halpern et al. (the al. being John Harrod and myself) on the catalytic hydrogenation of unsaturated acids using chlororuthenium(II) species in aqueous acid solutions certainly motivated the work of Geoffrey Wilkinson s group on Ru- and Rh-triphenylphosphine hydrogenation catalysts these... 

The Rh/PPhs hydroformylation catalyst system was developed approximately simultaneously by Geoffrey Wilkinson (and students),Union Carbide, BASF, and Celanese. This catalyst system has been extensively studied, and the key species is HRh(CO)(PPh3)2. Once again the core mechanism is the same as that discussed previously for the cobalt systems and shown in Figure 12. Rhodium catalysts are approximately 1,000 times faster than ones based on cobalt (Rh is also about 1,000 times more expensive). Thus, rhodium catalysts can be run at considerably milder pressures and temperatures (8-10 bar, 125 °C), which dramatically reduces the capital expenditures for industrial plant construction. The increased activity of Rh over Co mainly derives from the stronger electronic preference of... 

Geoffrey Wilkinson (Imperial College, London) shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Ernst 0. Fischer (Munich) for their achievements in organometallic chemistry. In addition to his work on catalysts for homogeneous hydrogenation, Wilkinson collaborated on determining the structure of ferrocene as well as numerous other aspects of organometallic compounds. 

The generally accepted mechanism for olefin cross-metathesis is outlined for the case of propene in Mechanism 14.4. The catalyst belongs to a class of organometallics known as a metallocarbene, carbene complex, or alkylidene complex. Its structure is characterized by a carbon-metal double bond. In olefin metathesis the metal is typically ruthenium (Ru), tungsten (W), or molybdenum (Mo). Transition-metal carbene complexes were first prepared by Ernst O. Fischer (Munich) who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Geoffrey Wilkinson. 

In the 1990s, metallocene polymerization catalysts began to be used commercially. Metallocene chemistry was developed in the early 1950s independently by Geoffrey Wilkinson at Harvard and Ernest Otto Fischer at the Technische Hochshule in Munich. They would share the 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry... 

Development by Geoffrey Wilkinson of a soluble catalyst for hydrogenation [tris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium chloride, Section 7.13 and Special Topic G] led to Wilkinson s earning a share of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His initial discovery, while at Imperial College, University of London, inspired many other researchers to create novel catalysts based on the Wilkinson catalyst. Some of these researchers were themselves recognized by the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 50% of which was awarded to William S. Knowles (Monsanto Corporation, retired) and Ryoji Noyori (Nagoya... 

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