Olefin Metathesis Catalysis and Polymer Synthesis
This community develops metal-catalyzed reactions that rearrange carbon-carbon double bonds, primarily to create new molecules and polymers with specific structures.
The research focuses on designing ruthenium, molybdenum, and tungsten-based catalysts, particularly those using N-heterocyclic carbene ligands, to drive olefin metathesis. Key reactions include ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP), ring-closing metathesis, and cross metathesis. These methods are applied to the total synthesis of complex organic molecules and the production of specialized polymers, including degradable thermosets, thermoplastics, and elastomers. The work emphasizes controlling catalyst activity, selectivity, and the structural precision of the resulting materials.
The largest share of the community's output is found in ruthenium research, accounting for 5.9% of all ruthenium studies, with 4,243 papers in this group. Tungsten and molybdenum also contribute significantly, representing 1.1% and 0.8% of their respective element research.
The community comprises 16,396 papers, published most frequently in Organometallics, the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Journal of Organometallic Chemistry.
Recent work continues to explore ring-opening metathesis polymerization, including strain-driven mechanisms and the synthesis of depolymerizable polyolefins from strained bicyclic monomers.