A Highly Active Chiral Ruthenium-Based Catalyst for Enantioselective Olefin Metathesis

A chiral Ru-based olefin metathesis catalyst bearing a chiral NHC ligand that is both C₁-symmetric and monodentate is described. The catalyst shows increased reactivity in comparison to existing chiral Ru-based catalysts that possess a C₂-symmetric NHC and successfully induces asymmetry in desymmetrization reactions.