From trials on rosuvastatin production waste valorization to development of new catalytic methods for Z → E isomerization of alkenes

Abstract

A convenient method for Z → E geometry isomerization of aryl–aryl (stilbenes), alkyl–aryl, and alkyl–alkyl alkenes was developed. This user-friendly method utilized a popular commercial Hoveyda–Grubbs ruthenium olefin metathesis catalyst in the presence of sodium formate in toluene and is characterized by good functional group compatibility, including halogen, ester, aldehyde, and acetal functions. This research originated from trials on the valorization of a waste by-product resulting from the industrial synthesis of a valuable API—rosuvastatin.