Ammonium-tagged catalysts have become a valuable tool for olefin metathesis. These catalysts can be applied to reactions in neat water and allow for easy removal of residual ruthenium from the reaction product. Moreover, over the years we have reported great improvements in the stability and efficiency of ammonium-tagged catalysts immobilized on solid supports. The most promising catalysts, AquaMet, StickyCat, and FixCat, have been commercialized and are frequently used by other research groups. The application of these catalysts in modern tandem metathesis/biochemical transformations and in the synthesis of advanced materials is worth highlighting. Further research is underway in our laboratories to design new more effective catalysts that also contain an ammonium tag.
Read more in our recent paper published in Organic Process Research & Development