Mechanochemical Immobilisation of Metathesis Catalysts in a Metal-Organic Framework.

A simple, one-step mechanochemical procedure for immobilisation of homogeneous metathesis catalysts in metal-organic frameworks was developed. Grinding MIL-101-NH2 (Al) with a Hoveyda-Grubbs second-generation catalyst resulted in a heterogeneous catalyst that is active for metathesis and one of the most stable immobilised metathesis catalysts. During the mechanochemical immobilisation the MIL-101-NH2 (Al) structure was partially converted to MIL-53-NH2 (Al). The Hoveyda-Grubbs catalyst entrapped in MIL-101-NH2 (Al) is responsible for the observed catalytic activity. The developed synthetic procedure was also successful for the immobilisation of a Zhan catalyst.