Some Homogeneous Catalytic Reactions Involving Transition-Metal Complexes

SOME HOMOGENEOUS CATALYTIC REACTIONS INVOLVING TRANSITION-METAL COMPLEXES... 

Virtually every element in one form or another acts as catalyst for some chemical reaction. Since strenuous precautions are seldom taken to remove traces of ions, such as Cu2+ and Cl-, or other contaminants, notably oxygen and water, from reagents commonly used, many quite ordinary reactions may well be catalyzed to some extent by extraneous materials. In this Chapter we discuss certain catalytic reactions involving transition-metal complexes, mainly those in homogeneous solution that involve the formation of metal-to-carbon bonds. 

There are several typical oxidation products from alkenes, which can be reached via catalytic routes using molecular oxygen as terminal oxidant. We are only considering liquid phase processes catalyzed by transition metal ions or complexes typically below 100-150 C. Many of these homogeneous catalytic reactions occur at or around room temperature. In addition to a single solvent containing the dissolved catalyst complex, phase-transfer conditions involving liquid-liquid or solid-liquid systems will in some cases be described. Likewise,... 

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