The Role of Transition Metal Hydrides in Homogeneous Catalysis

The Role of Transition Metal Hydrides in Homogeneous Catalysis 

It will by now be apparent that hydrogen very readily bonds to transition metals. Also a survey of the variety of routes employed in the formation of transition metal hydrides shows that the hydrogen may arise from many different sources such as water, alcohols, molecular hydrogen, and the hydrocarbon entities of nearby coordinating ligands. Metal-hydrogen systems are reactive and will add across unsaturated C=C systems, undergo homolytic dissociation, and may be readily replaced. 

In view of these observations it is not surprising that there occur a wide variety of catalytic reactions, particularly involving hydrocarbons. For example, the isomerization of olefins, homogeneous hydrogenations, group substitution in the vicinity of double bonds, and polymerization reactions are all catalyzed by transition metal complexes. 

The fields of organometallic chemistry and transition metal hydrides have grown together and are inextricably bound. A detailed coverage of the chemistry relating these two fields would be out of place here however, a variety of examples are considered below that show the importance of transition metal hydrides in the field of catalysis and organometallic chemistry. 

Examples of Catalytic Reactions That May Involve Metal Hydrides 

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IV. The Role of Transition Metal Hydrides in Homogeneous Catalysis 172... 

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