Catalysts for olefin metathesis have been developed into enormously powerful and versatile tools in organic synthesis. The wealth of synthetic transformations that can be accomplished is astonishing
It has been noted commonly, the highly efficient metathesis catalysts are being widely used by pharma and chemical industries for the production of high value chemicals
Compared with traditional processes, metathesis technology typically offers dramatic reductions in the number of manufacturing steps, amount of by-products and the quantities of solvents and waste, thereby significantly lowering capital and operating costs
Olefin metathesis catalysts, used in the formation of C-C double bonds, are readily available on the market. However, the development of catalysts which combine high activity with excellent tolerance to a variety of functional groups, and can operate under strenuous reaction conditions, is still challenging.
However Apeiron Ru-NHC homogeneous metathesis catalysts show remarkable activity for various organic transformations (TON up to 90,000; TOF up to 6000 min-1). These catalysts also undergo heterogenization via easy and irreversible deposition on various solid supports. They can operate in the temperature from 0°C to 140°C in various non-polar and polar solvents, including water.
Recently the olefin metathesis has been widely used in the transformation of renewable materials such as vegetable oils into chemical products difficult to produce with any other methods.
The olefin metathesis is used in active pharmaceutical ingredients, in high value fragrance chemicals, modified rubbers and polymers
Good water solubility and high activity in mild conditions opens up new possibilities for the transformation of highly polar APIs but also allows for powerful tandem metathesis/biochemical transformations
As Strem’s business was based on high value intermediates and speciality chemicals for research, it has found by expanding in this way to both universities and businesses, metathesis is of increasing use in the green chemistry applications
For a free copy of the Strem Chemiker published in June 2015 just email enquiries@strem.co.uk or download from www.strem.co.uk
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