What impresses you most about olefin metathesis?rnThat it is still developing. It was discovered more than 55 years ago but it took 30 years to make the first well-defined catalyst. The field is growing exponentially. I like its simplicity and cleanliness': the only products of olefin metathesis are olefins, and you can reuse or store the olefins generated. You start and end with olefins, so it is a closed loop. Olefins are the backbone of the chemical industry and are common in nature. Because I am not an organic chemist, I didn't realize for many years how impressive a reaction metathesis is. Now I know how important it is to turn olefins into other olefins - it avoids all the intermediate entities and therefore reduces chemical waste.
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