Olefin self-cross-metathesis catalyzed by the second-generation Grubbs carbene complex in room temperature ionic liquids

Olefin self-cross-metathesis (CM) reactions catalyzed by the second-generation Grubbs carbene complex have been compared in dichloromethane and two kinds of selected room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). Both the catalyst and the ionic liquids could be simply recovered and reused for at least four cycles just with a little drop in activity. Significant enhancements in the reactivity, yield and reaction rate were achieved.