Objective Development of catalyst-based processes is critical for creating sustainable technology. One such class of reactions, olefin-metathesis mediated by transition metal complexes has recently emerged as a vital tool for organic synthesis. Besides the creation of organic polymers through ring-opening, a new methodology involving tandem synthesis offers a facile route to macrocyclic systems, which now comprise many new pharmaceutical agents. Ruthenium-alkylidene complexes of the Grubbs and Hoydeia variety perform efficient metathesis for a diverse variety of substrates with high functional group tolerance. However, are three main problems encountered with olefin metathesis by these types of complexes, namely, low-yielding asymmetric synthesis, unpredictable cycloisomerization, and inefficient operation under aqueous conditions. The latter has become necessary in order to prepare high molecular weight biological targets. To address these problems, a Ru-based catalyst based on the N,N-chelating ligand, beta-diketiminate, is proposed. Advantages of this ligand include easy and high yielding preparative procedures with flexibility to attach a variety of substituents, including water-soluble functionalities. Furthermore, possibilities exist to create a chiral ligand for promoting asymmetric reactions. Anchoring of the catalyst through attachment of the ligand framework to a solid state support would facilitate high-throughput screening of substrates and assist in the rapid identification of problematic cases. The conditions which promote cycloisomerization over olefin metathesis will also be investigated. Structural data from single crystal X-ray diffraction studies combined with models calculated by the combination of density functional theory and molecular mechanics will help to identity key mechanistic features related to olefin metathesis. These findings, will in turn, be used to adjust and fine-tune the properties of ligand and hence the activity of the catalyst. Fields of science natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryorganometallic chemistrynatural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metalsnatural scienceschemical sciencespolymer sciencesnatural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryalcoholsnatural scienceschemical sciencescatalysis Keywords Asymmetric-synthesis Catalyst-immobilization Catalyst-tuning Combinatorial-screening Cycloisomerization Ligand-design Olefin-metathesis Ru-alkydiene Water-soluble diketiminate Programme(s) FP6-MOBILITY - Human resources and Mobility in the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration "Structuring the European Research Area" under the Sixth Framework Programme 2002-2006 Topic(s) MOBILITY-2.1 - Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowships (EIF) Call for proposal FP6-2004-MOBILITY-5 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme EIF - Marie Curie actions-Intra-European Fellowships Coordinator ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDRALE DE LAUSANNE EU contribution No data Address - LAUSANNE Switzerland See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data