2-Methyltetrahydrofuran: Sustainable solvent for ruthenium-catalyzed olefin metathesis

Fishing for the right catalyst for the cross-metathesis reaction of methyl oleate with 2-methyl-2-butene

“…7 only the best one is shown). 67 In accordance with the literature notion, we observed that the substituent in the para position of benzenesulfonic acid has a significant influence on the catalyst activity ( Fig. 7).…”

Ruthenium Complexes Bearing Thiophene‐Based Unsymmetrical N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands as Selective Catalysts for Olefin Metathesis in Toluene and Environmentally Friendly 2‐Methyltetrahydrofuran

“…This solvent has already a broad application in organic chemistry, including in the pharmaceutical industry . It was tested also in olefin metathesis, utilizing a general‐purpose Hoveyda–Grubbs catalyst, 3 b , and three rather exotically substituted variants ( 14 a – c ) . In parallel, Skowerski et al.…”

Ruthenium‐Catalysed Olefin Metathesis in Environmentally Friendly Solvents: 2‐Methyltetrahydrofuran Revisited

“…Accordingly, the analogous catalysts substituted with EDG are initiating more slowly than parent 1 , . In our previous 2‐MeTHF study we noted, however, that in the case of functionalised catalysts 3a – c , the most strongly EWG‐activated complex ( 3b ) initiated more slowly than 1 . On the other hand, in DCM and toluene the order of initiation rates was 3b > 3c ≈ 3a > 1 , what is in accordance with previously published results on the electronic activation of Hoveyda–Grubbs type complexes .…”

“…Before conducting the calculations for complexes 2 , 7 and 12 we decided to first verify if there is any correlation between the experimental and computational data for systems 3a – c , which were synthesized earlier but not studied computationally . As stated above we noticed earlier that in 2‐MeTHF at 50 °C the order of initiation rate for this group of catalysts was 3c ≈ 3a > 3b > 1 .…”