Extensive isomerization of alkenes using a bifunctional catalyst: An alkene zipper

DB Grotjahn, CR Larsen, JL Gustafson…

Index: Grotjahn, Douglas B.; Larsen, Casey R.; Gustafson, Jeffery L.; Nair, Reji; Sharma, Abhinandini Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2007 , vol. 129, # 31 p. 9592 - 9593

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Citation Number: 88

Abstract

Catalyzed movement of alkene double bonds up to 30 positions has been accomplished using a catalyst featuring a cationic CpRu fragment and bifunctional imidazolylphosphine. The basic nitrogen of the latter is thought to deprotonate coordinated alkene intermediates reversibly, facilitating isomerization between terminal and (E)-alkenes and accelerating conversions by factors of up to 1× 104.