Olefin metathesis catalysts and process utilizing same

Claim 1

A process for metathesizing olefins which comprises contacting an olefin of the general formula ##STR7## where R 1 is an alkyl group containing from 1 to 40 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl or alkyl-substituted cycloalkyl group containing 3 to 20 carbon atoms, phenyl, a C 1-20 alkyl-substituted phenyl radical or radical of the formula ##STR8## where n is an integer from 1 to 20 and R 2 , R 3 and R 4 are, independently, hydrogen or a radical as defined for R 1 such that the total number of carbon atoms in the olefin does not exceed about 50, with a homogeneous catalyst at a temperature from about 0° to about 220° C under substantially anhydrous conditions, said homogeneous catalyst consisting essentially of: a. a tungsten halide or tungsten oxyhalide; b. an organotin compound of the formula ##STR9## where R is an alkyl group containing from 1 to 16 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group containing from 3 to 8 carbon atoms, benzyl, phenyl or an alkyl-substituted phenyl group having from 7 to 12 carbon atoms; and c. a nitrogenous modifying agent selected from the group consisting of aliphatic amines, cycloaliphatic amines, aromatic amines and heterocyclic amines wherein the nitrogen is contained in a five- or six-membered ring, the molar ratio of (b) to (a) ranging from 0.4:1 to 1.5:1 and the molar ratio of (c) to (a) ranging from 0.1:1 to 0.95:1, said catalyst employed in an amount so that from about 0.0003 mole to about 0.1 mole of (a) is present per mole of the olefin.