Weskamp T, Kohl FJ, Hieringer W, Gleich D, Herrmann WA
Anorganisch-chemisches Institut der Technischen Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, D-85747 Garching (Germany).
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 1999 Aug;38(16):2416-2419. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1521-3773(19990816)38:16<2416::aid-anie2416>3.0.co;2-#.
Two N-heterocyclic carbene ligands at once may be one too many, at least if you intend to have highly active ruthenium catalysts for olefin metathesis. Density functional calculations recommend the replacement of the second carbene ligand in the successful ROMP catalysts 1 by coordinatively more labile ligands as in 2 or 3. In both cases, the catalytic activity is greatly improved.