Metathesis methods Recent Progress in Metathesis Chemistry

ABSTRACT Recent, selected achievements in metathesis chemistry arereviewed. In this context, the area of catalyst design,application of chiral metathesis catalysts toenantioselective synthesis and desymmetrisation reactions,as well as the latest aspects of catalyst immobilisation willbe covered. Finally, chemistry related to the synthesis ofmetathesis derived materials will be addressed. INTRODUCTION Metathesis chemistry was discovered in the second half ofthe last century and its true mechanism was clarified inthe early 1970s. Since then, metathesis basicallyrevolutionised chemistry. Hardly any other synthetic toolhas had such an enormous impact on that many areas ofchemistry as metathesis has experienced. In 2005, theChemistry Nobel Prize was awarded to Y. Chauvin (1), R.H. Grubbs (2) and R. R. Schrock (3) for their contributionsto metathesis chemistry relevant to organic synthesis andpolymer science (4). It would by far exceed the limitationsof this short review to cover all aspects of metathesis. Theinterested reader is strongly encouraged to refer to someexcellent reviews and books (5-19). Instead some recent