Key processes in ruthenium-catalysed olefin metathesis

The authors acknowledge the following sources of funding: the EPSRC, the ERC (via Advanced Investigator Grant ‘FUNCAT’ to SPN), the EC (via FP7 project ‘EUMET’) and Umicore (for gifts of materials). SPN is a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award holder.While the fundamental series of [2+2]cycloadditions and retro[2+2]cycloadditions that make up the pathways of ruthenium-catalysed metathesis reactions is well-established, the exploration of mechanistic aspects of alkene metathesis continues. In this Feature Article, modern mechanistic studies of the alkene metathesis reaction, catalysed by well-defined ruthenium complexes, are discussed. Broadly, these concern the processes of pre-catalyst initiation, propagation and decomposition, which all have a considerable impact on the overall efficiency of metathesis reactions.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe