High activity metal carbene metathesis catalysts generated using a thermally activated N-heterocyclic carbene precursor

1. A process for converting a less active or slower to initiate catalyst system to a higher activity catalyst system, the process comprising contacting a protected N-heterocyclic carbene with a metathesis initiator and an olefin in the presence of energy, wherein the protected N-heterocyclic carbene is of the formula NHC—X 2 —Y, NHC is any N-heterocyclic carbene ligand, and X 2 —Y is any moiety that is released in the presence of energy.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the protected N-heterocyclic carbene is of the formula:

wherein

R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 9 , R 10 and R 11 are each independently hydrogen or a substituted or unsubstituted substituent selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 20 alkyl, C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, aryl, C 1 -C 20 carboxylate, C 1 -C 20 alkoxy, C 2 -C 20 alkenyloxy, C 2 -C 20 alkynyloxy, aryloxy, C 2 -C 20 alkoxycarbonyl, C 1 -C 20 alkylthio, C 1 -C 20 alkylsulfonyl and C 1 -C 20 alkylsulfinyl;

X 2 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, Si, Sn, Li, Na, MgX 3 and acyl, wherein X 3 is any halogen; and

Y is selected from the group consisting of CCl 3 ; CH 2 SO 2 Ph; C 6 F 5 ; OR 21 ; and N(R 22 )(R 23 ), wherein R 21 is selected from the group consisting of Me, C 2 H 5 , i-C 3 H 7 , CH 2 CMe 3 , CMe 3 , C 6 H 11 (cyclohexyl), CH 2 Ph, CH 2 norbornyl, CH 2 norbornenyl, C 6 H 5 , 2,4,6-(CH 3 ) 3 C 6 H 2 (mesityl), 2,6-i-Pr 2 C 6 H 2 , 4-Me-C 6 H 4 (tolyl), and 4-Cl—C 6 H 4 ; and wherein R 22 and R 23 are each independently selected from the group consisting of Me, C 2 H 5 , i-C 3 H 7 , CH 2 CMe 3 , CMe 3 , C 6 H 11 (cyclohexyl), CH 2 Ph, CH 2 norbornyl, CH 2 norbornenyl, C 6 H 5 , 2,4,6-(CH 3 ) 3 C 6 H 2 (mesityl), 2,6-i-Pr 2 C 6 H 2 , and 4-Me-C 6 H 4 (tolyl), 4-Cl—C 6 H 4 ).

3. The process of claim 2 wherein the at least one substituent is substituted with one or more substituted or unsubstituted moieties selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 1 -C 10 alkoxy, and aryl.

4. The process of claim 3 wherein at least one moiety is substituted with one or more groups selected from the group consisting of halogen, a C 1 -C 5 alkyl, C 1 -C 5 alkoxy, and phenyl.

5. The process of claim 2 wherein at least one of the R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 9 , R 10 and R 11 substituent groups includes one or more functional groups selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl, thiol, alcohol, sulfonic acid, phosphine, thioether, ketone, aldehyde, ester, ether, amine, imine, amide, imide, imido, nitro, carboxylic acid, disulfide, carbonate, isocyanate, carbodiimide, carboalkoxy, carbamate, acetal, ketal, boronate, cyano, cyanohydrin, hydrazine, oxime, hydrazide, enamine, sulfone, sulfide, sulfenyl, and halogen.

6. The process of claim 2 wherein R 7 , R 8 , R 9 and R 10 are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, methyl, aralkyl, and aryl and R 6 and R 11 are each independently selected from the group consisting of substituted or unsubstituted C 1 -C 10 alkyl, C 1 -C 10 cycloalkyl, C 2 -C 10 alkenyl, aralkyl, and aryl.

7. The process of claim 6 wherein R 7 , R 8 , R 9 and R 10 are each hydrogen and R 6 and R 11 substituents are each independently substituted or unsubstituted and are selected from the group consisting of phenyl, vinyl, methyl, isopropyl, tert-butyl, neopentyl, or benzyl.

8. The process of claim 7 wherein the substituent is substituted with one or more moieties selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 5 alkyl, C 1 -C 5 alkoxy, phenyl, and a functional group.

9. The process of claim 7 wherein R 6 and R 11 are each independently substituted or unsubstituted aryl.

10. The process of claim 2 wherein at least two of R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 9 , R 10 and R 11 is linked to form an substituted or unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated ring structure.

11. The process of claim 1 wherein the NHC—X 2 —Y is selected from the group consisting of 1,3-dimesityl-2-methoxy-imidazolidine, 1,3-dimesityl-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-dimesityl-2-ethoxy-imidazolidine, 1,3-dimesityl-2-tert-butoxy-imidazolidine, 1,3-dimesityl-2-benzyloxy-imidazolidine, 1,3-diphenyl-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(3-chlorophenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(4-methylphenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(3-methylphenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(4-bromophenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(4-iodophenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(4-ethoxyphenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(4-ethylphenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(4-nitrophenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(3,4-dimethylphenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl) imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(3,5-dimethylphenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl imidazolidine, 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-phenyl-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-bis(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(trichloromethyl)imidazolidine, 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-phenyl-2-(trichloromethyl imidazolidine, 2-(trichloromethyl)-1,3-bis(2,6-dimethyl-4-tert-butylphenyl)imidazolidine, 2-(trichloromethyl)-1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolidine, 1,3-dimesityl-2-dimethylamino-imidazolidine, 1-(1,3-dimesityl-2-imidazolidinyl)-piperidine, and, 4-(1,3-dimesityl-2-imidazolidinyl)-morpholine.

12. The process of claim 1 wherein the energy is selected from the group consisting of thermal energy, laser, electron beam radiation, gamma radiation, plasma, sound, ultra-violet, and microwave radiation.

13. The process of claim 1 wherein the olefin is cyclic or acyclic.

14. The process of claim 1 wherein the olefin contains more than one polymerizable double bond.

15. The process of claim 1 wherein the olefin is a monocyclic olefin or polycyclic olefin.

16. The process of claim 15 wherein the olefin is a substituted or unsubstituted monocyclic olefin and is selected from the group consisting of cyclopropene, cyclobutene, cyclopentene, methylcyclopentene, cycloheptene, cyclooctene, 5-acetoxycyclooctene, 5-hydroxycyclooctene, cyclooctadiene, cyclotetraene, cyclcodecene, and cyclododecene.

17. The process of claim 15 wherein the olefin is a polycyclic olefin and is selected from the group consisting of norbornene (bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene), 5-methyl-2-norbornene, ethylnorbornene, propylnorbornene, isopropylnorbornene, butylnorbornene, isobutylnorbornene, pentylnorbornene, hexylnorbornene, heptylnorbornene, octylnorbornene, decylnorbornene, dodecylnorbornene, octadecylnorbornene, p-tolylnorbornene, methylidene norbornene, phenylnorbornene, ethylidenenorbornene, vinylnorbornene, exo-dicyclopentadiene, endo-dicyclopentadiene, tetracyclododecene, methyltetracyclododecene, tetracyclododecadiene, dimethyltetracyclododecene, ethyltetracyclododecene, ethylidenyl tetracyclododecene, phenyltetracyclodecene, symmetrical and unsymmetrical trimers and tetramers of cyclopentadiene, 5,6-dimethylnorbornene, propenylnorbornene, 5,8-methylene-5a,8a-dihydrofluorene, cyclohexenylnorbornene, dimethanohexahydronaphthalene, endo,exo-5,6-dimethoxynorbornene, endo,endo-5,6-dimethoxynorbornene, 2,3-dimethoxynorbornadiene, 5,6-bis(chloromethyl)bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene, 5-tris(ethoxy)silylnorbornene, 2-dimethylsilylbicyclo[2.2.1]hepta-2,5-diene, 2,3-bistrifluoromethylbicyclo[2.2.1]hepta-2,5-diene, 5-fluoro-5-pentafluoroethyl-6-,6-bis(trifluoromethyl)bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene, 5,6-difluoro-5-heptatafluoroisopropyl-6-trifluoromethyl)bicyclol[2.2.1]hept-2-ene, 2,3,3,4,4,5,5,6-octafluorotricyclo[5.2.1.O]dec-8-ene, and 5-trifluoromethylbicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene, 5,6-dimethyl-2-norbornene, 5-a-naphthyl-2-norbornene, 5,5-dimethyl-2-norbornene, 1,4,4a,9,9a,10-hexahydro-9,10[1′,2′]-benzeno-1,4-methanoanthracene. indanylnorbornene (i.e., 1,4,4,9-tetrahydro-1,4-methanofluorene, the reaction product of CPD and indene), 6,7,10,10-tetrahydro-7,10-methanofluoranthene (i.e., the reaction product of CPD with acenaphthalene), 1,4,4,9,9,10-hexahydro-9,10[1′,2′]-benzeno-1,4-methanoanthracene, endo,endo-5,6-dimethyl-2-norbornene, endo,exo-5,6-dimethyl-2-norbornene, exo,exo-5,6-dimethyl-2-norbornene, 1,4,4,5,6,9,10,13,14,14-decahydro-1,4-methanobenzocyclododecene (i.e., reaction product of CPD and 1,5,9-cyclododecatriene), 2,3,3,4,7,7-hexahydro-4,7-methano-1H-indene (i.e., reaction product of CPD and cyclopentene), 1,4,4,5,6,7,8,8-octahydro-1,4-methanonaphthalene (i.e., reaction product of CPD and cyclohexene), 1,4,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,10-decahydro-1,4-methanobenzocyclooctene, and 1,2,3,3,3,4,7,7,8,8,decahydro-4,7-methanocyclopent[a]indene.

18. The process of claim 1 wherein the metathesis initiator is any Ru or Os metal carbene metathesis catalyst.

19. The process of claim 18 wherein the metathesis catalyst is tetra-coordinated, penta-coordinated or hexa-coordinated.

20. The process of claim 18 wherein the catalyst possesses a metal center that is in the +2 oxidation state, has an electron count of 16, and is pentacoordinated.

21. The process of claim 20 wherein the catalyst is of the general formula

wherein:

M is ruthenium or osmium;

X and X 1 are the same or different and are each independently any anionic ligand;

L and L 1 are the same or different and are each independently any neutral electron donor ligand;

R and R 1 are the same or different and are each independently hydrogen or a substituent selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 20 alkyl, C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, aryl, C 1 -C 20 carboxylate, C 1 -C 20 alkoxy, C 2 -C 20 alkenyloxy, C 2 -C 20 alkynyloxy, aryloxy, C 2 -C 20 alkoxycarbonyl, C 1 -C 20 alkylthio, C 1 -C 20 alkylsulfonyl, C 1 -C 20 alkylsulfinyl, and silyl, and wherein R and R 1 are each independently substituted or unsubstituted.

22. The process of claim 20 wherein the initiator is selected from the group consisting of

23. The process of claim 1 wherein the reaction occurs in the absence of a solvent.

24. The process of claim 1 wherein the olefin is a polymerizable monomer composition comprising more than one norbornene-type monomers wherein the norbornene-type monomers are the same or different.

25. A process for converting a less active or slower to initiate catalyst system to a higher activity catalyst system, the process comprising contacting a protected N-heterocyclic carbene with a tetra-coordinated metathesis initiator and an olefin in the presence of energy, wherein the protected N-heterocyclic carbene is of the formula NHC—X 2 —Y, NHC is any N-heterocyclic carbene ligand, and X 2 —Y is any moiety that is released in the presence of energy.

26. The process of claim 25 wherein the olefin is substituted or unsubstituted norbornene.

27. The process of claim 25 wherein the olefin is substituted or unsubstituted dicyclopentadiene.

28. A process for converting a less active or slower to initiate catalyst system to a higher activity catalyst system, the process comprising contacting a protected N-heterocyclic carbene with a metathesis initiator and an acyclic olefin in the presence of energy, wherein the protected N-heterocyclic carbene is of the formula NHC—X 2 —Y, NHC is any N-heterocyclic carbene ligand, and X 2 —Y is any moiety that is released in the presence of energy.