Isomerization of 1-hexene catalyzed over polymer-supported RuCl2(PPh3)3

Polymer-supported ruthenium catalyst was prepared by anchoring dichlorotris(triphenylphosphine)ruthenium, RuCl₂(PPh₃)3, onto the phosphinated polystyrene bead. The polymer-supported RuCl₂(PPh₃)3 could be reused several times with only small loss of catalytic activity in the isomerization of 1-hexene. The activity rather increased during the few initial runs. In both homogeneous and heterogenized catalysts, an induction period was required to initiate the isomerization. The catalyst efficiency was promoted in the mixture of good swelling solvent and potent hydrogen donor. Upon heterogenizing, the activity was reduced by a factor of 2.0-8.2.