Iron is one of the few remaining niches in the Periodic Table of the Elements as far as applications in homogeneous catalysis are concerned.Located above ruthenium as one of the most versatile central metals in the arsenal, iron is cheap, nontoxic, benign, readily available, rich in oxidation states, and amenable to ligation to equally inexpensive(nitrogen-or oxygen-based)ligand sets.It serves nature as/in the operational unit of many biological catalysts(cytochrome P450, nitrogenase, methane monooxygenase etc)to effect some of the most difficult chemical transformations with admirable ease.Despite these many advantageous attributes, iron-based catalysts are still surprisingly underrepresented in the field of organic synthesis.
展开▼
