Rate Enhanced Olefin Cross-Metathesis Reactions: The Copper Iodide Effect

Copper iodide has been shown to be an effective cocatalyst for the olefin cross-metathesis reaction. In particular, it has both a catalyst stabilizing effect due to iodide ion, as well as copper(I)-based phosphine-scavenging properties that apply to use of the Grubbs-2 catalyst. A variety of Michael acceptors and olefinic partners can be cross-coupled under mild conditions in refluxing diethyl ether that avoid chlorinated solvents. This effect has also been applied to chemistry in water at room temperature using the new surfactant TPGS-750-M.

J. Org. Chem., 2011, 76 (11), pp 4697–4702

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jo200360s