Cross-metathesis of allyl halides with olefins bearing amide and ester groups

An investigation was conducted to determine whether the cross-metathesis (CM) of allyl halides tolerates amide groups. The results show that the ruthenium-based complexes I–III serve as poor catalysts for the CM of allyl halides with olefins that contain an N,N-dimethylamide group. In contrast, the Grubbs–Hoveyda–Blechert second generation catalyst (III) efficiently promotes these processes with olefins bearing a Weinreb amide group. Lastly, a reinvestigation of the ester group tolerance of the allyl halide CM with unsaturated esters demonstrated that III serves as an efficient catalyst for these reactions.