Room Temperature Ethene to Propene (ETP) Tandem Catalysis using Single Crystalline Solid-State Molecular Pre-Catalysts

A tandem catalytic ensemble of solid-state molecular organometallic (SMOM) crystalline pre-catalysts are deployed under batch or flow conditions for the ethene to propene process (ETP). These catalysts operate at ambient temperature and low pressure, via sequential ethene dimerization, butenes isomerization and cross-metathesis. Under flow conditions the on-stream ethene conversion (55 %), initial propene selectivity (92 %), stability (71 % selectivity after 7 h) and low temperature/pressures are competitive with the best-in-class heterogeneous systems, marking a new, in crystallo, approach to ETP.