Until recently, and in con-trast to organic chemistry, reactions in water as solvent were important only for ionic reactions in inorganic chemistry—most likely are hydrogenations or transfer hydrogenations over heterogeneous catalysts as examples of large-scale and economically important transformations. This changed as a consequence of the development of water-soluble ligands (or ligands soluble in other media) and their application in novel homogeneously catalyzed biphasic processes such as SHOP (Shell) or the Ruhrchemie/ Rhone-Poulenc process. In parallel, a series of reviews (e.g., that by Li and Chan) appeared, promoting water as a "green" solvent, thus claiming the fashionable advantages of "green synthesis" or "green catalysis". The various reports about special developments in the use of water deal with reactions "on water", or with supercritical water, or with water as catalyst, or other related topics.
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