In the last 15 years aqueous organometallic chemistry and catalysis has emerged from being a laboratory curiosity to become an established field of research. Topics reviewed here include mechanistic studies on the effect of water on catalyzed reactions, the preparation of water soluble phosphines as ligands for catalysis, metal catalyzed organic reactions in water (hydrogenation, hydroformylation, carbonylation, olefin metathesis, hydrophosphination, etc.), chiral ligands and enantioselective catalysis, organometallic radical photochemistry in aqueous solutions, bioorganometallic chemistry,...

Homogeneous hydrogenation is one of the most thoroughly studied fields of homogeneous catalysis. The results of these studies have proved to be most important for an understanding of the underlying principles of the activation of small molecules by transition metal complexes. During the past three decades homogeneous hydrogenation has found widespread application in organic chemistry, including the production of important pharmaceuticals, especially where a sophisticated degree of selectivity is required.
This volume presents a general account of the main principles and applications of...