Grubbs' Catalyst in Paraffin: An Air-Stable Preparation for Alkene Metathesis

A homogeneous mixture of Grubbs' catalyst in paraffin wax was shown to catalyze three important types of metathesis reactions: ring-closing metathesis, alkene dimerization, and alkene cross-metathesis (e.g., 11 → 13). This catalyst preparation demonstrated no loss in catalytic activity after 22 months of storage open to the air.