31.6 Intramolecular Olefin Metathesis

The olefin metathesis reaction has been used primarily as an intermolecular process for polymer synthesis, but it is also finding increased usage in complex organic synthesis as an intramolecular process in what is called ring-closing metathesis (RCM). The optimum catalyst is an Ru(II) complex, and cyclic alkenes with up to 30 atoms in ring size are easily produced.