Eighty per cent of all compounds produced in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries require at least one essential catalytic step during their synthesis. At the same time the use of hydrocarbons as a feed-stock for commodity and fine chemicals typically requires an oxidation step, which is usually mediated by a transition metal compound. Consequently oxidation catalysis is a major research field in chemistry, both in academia and in industry. In many such processes, species with metal-carbon bonds are formed as key intermediates, and these processes represent the primary focus of this...

The use of phosphine derivatives has historically induced the tremendous development of catalysis (both non-asymmetric and asymmetric). Although the chemistry of amines is more documented, the use of nitrogen-containing ligands only appeared recently. Nevertheless, during the last ten years, the results describing chiral diamine preparations and their uses in asymmetric catalysis and synthesis are increasing faster than their phosphorus counterparts. The reader will find in this volume the most recent methods for the synthesis of chiral diamines as well as their applications in asymmetric...

Heterogeneous catalysis has been essential to the development of efficient chemical processes for more than a century, and this field has been traditionally part of the solid state chemistry and surface science communities. The design of better catalysts has raised the following questions: "what is the structure of the active sites?" and "how to control their nature?" The necessary need to develop more sustainable chemical processes and the success of homogeneous catalysis relying on molecular organometallic chemistry has led the community of molecular chemists to investigate the...

Carbonylation reactions are of major importance in both organic and industrial chemistry. Due to the availability, price and reactivity pattern, carbon monoxide is becoming a more and more important building block for fine and bulk chemicals. The major reaction types of carbon monoxide are comprehensively discussed by leading experts from academia and industry. The authors highlight important carbonylation reactions such as hydroformylation, alkoxy-carbonylations, co/olefin-copolymerization, Pauson-Khand reactions and others. They illustrate applications in organic synthesis and give...

Masakatsu Shibasaki, Motomu Kanai, Shigeki Matsunaga, and Naoya Kumagai: Multimetallic Multifunctional Catalysts for Asymmetric Reactions.- Takao Ikariya: Bifunctional transition metal-based molecular catalysts for asymmetric syntheses.- Chidambaram Gunanathan and David Milstein: Bond Activation by Metal-Ligand Cooperation: Design of "Green" Catalytic Reactions Based on Aromatization-Dearomatization of Pincer Complexes.- Madeleine C. Warner, Charles P. Casey, and Jan-E. Backvall: Shvo's Catalyst in Hydrogen Transfer Reactions.- Noritaka Mizuno, Keigo Kamata, and Kazuya...