Promoting active site renewal in heterogeneous olefin metathesis catalysts.

As an atom-efficient strategy for the large-scale interconversion of olefins, heterogeneously catalysed olefin metathesis sees commercial applications in the petrochemical, polymer and speciality chemical industries. Notably, the thermoneutral and highly selective cross-metathesis of ethylene and 2-butenes offers an appealing route for the on-purpose production of propylene to address the C shortfall caused by using shale gas as a feedstock in steam crackers. However, key mechanistic details have remained ambiguous for decades, hindering process development and adversely affecting economic viability relative to other propylene production technologies.