Olefin metathesis in ionic liquids.

This tutorial review covers the use of ionic liquids as (co)solvents for the olefin metathesis reaction. Olefin metathesis is a simple and effective synthetic tool used to create many compounds which otherwise would require complex multistep syntheses. It is expected that the application of ionic liquids (IL) as well as the development of IL-enabled catalysts and separation techniques will create a green aspect to this important methodology.