Well-defined silica supported bipodal molybdenum oxo alkyl complexes: a model of the active sites of industrial olefin metathesis catalysts

Abstract

A well-defined, silica-supported molybdenum oxo alkyl species, (SiO–)₂Mo(O)(CH₂^tBu)₂, was prepared by the selective grafting of Mo(O)(CH₂^tBu)₃Cl onto a silica partially dehydroxylated at 200 °C using a rigorous surface organometallic chemistry approach. The immobilized bipodal surface species, partly resembling the active species of industrial MoO₃/SiO₂ olefin metathesis catalysts, exhibited excellent functional group tolerance in conjunction with its high activity in homocoupling, self and ring closing olefin metathesis.