Turning the Light On: Recent Developments in Photoinduced Olefin Metathesis

Abstract

Olefin metathesis is one of the most important methods to form carbon–carbon double bonds and has found many applications in industry and academia. The ability to initiate the reaction using external stimulus such as light, with high spatial and temporal resolution is highly advantageous and provides creative novel opportunities in organic syntheses and material sciences. This review article covers recent advances in light-activated olefin metathesis reactions from the development of novel complexes that can be initiated photochemically to recently reported applications of photoinduced olefin metathesis, as well as the bright newly emerging field of photoredox-mediated metal-free ROMP.1 Introduction2 Light-Activated Olefin Metathesis Complexes2.1 Sulfur-Chelated Hoveyda–Grubbs-Type Complexes2.2 Nitrogen-Chelated Hoveyda–Grubbs-Type Complexes2.3 Catalyst Activation with Photoacid Generators2.4 Phototuning of Active Complexes2.5 Photoactivation of Non-Grubbs-Type Olefin Metathesis Complexes3 Photoredox-Mediated Metal-Free ROMP4 Applications of Photoinduced Olefin Metathesis4.1 Chromatic Orthogonal Olefin Metathesis4.2 UV-Filter-Assisted Olefin Metathesis4.3 Photolithographic Olefin Metathesis Polymerization5 Conclusions