β-Alkyl Elimination: Fundamental Principles and Some Applications
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Updated: Mar 18, 2026

Separation of Aldehydes and Reactive Ketones from Mixtures Using a Bisulfite Extraction Protocol
Published on: April 2, 2018
Matthew E O'Reilly1, Saikat Dutta1, Adam S Veige1
1Department of Chemistry, Center for Catalysis, University of Florida , Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States.
Abstract:
This review describes organometallic compounds and materials that are capable of mediating a rarely encountered but fundamentally important reaction: β-alkyl elimination at the metal-Cα-Cβ-R moiety, in which an alkyl group attached to the Cβ atom is transferred to the metal or to a coordinated substrate. The objectives of this review are to provide a cohesive fundamental understanding of β-alkyl-elimination reactions and to highlight its applications in olefin polymerization, alkane hydrogenolysis, depolymerization of branched polymers, ring-opening polymerization of cycloalkanes, and other useful organic reactions. To provide a coherent understanding of the β-alkyl elimination reaction, special attention is given to conditions and strategies used to facilitate β-alkyl-elimination/transfer events in metal-catalyzed olefin polymerization, which provide the well-studied examples.
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