Organometallic Compounds

Dear Colleagues,

Organometallic compounds, molecules that contain at least one metal-carbon or metal-hydrogen bond, have had an enormous impact on the development of homogeneous catalysts. Such molecularly well-defined catalysts have revolutionized organic synthesis by achieving efficiency and selectivity not achieved before. Organometallic compounds have also influenced material synthesis: Areas that have profited from the ready availability of volatile, stoichiometrically precisely defined molecular compounds of the metallic elements including synthesis of materials (metals, alloys, semi-conductors) by vapor deposition, of new molecular magnetic and electro optical materials (non-linear optics), of metal-organic frameworks as gas adsorbents, of metal-containing polymers, and of metallomeogens. The usefulness of organometallic compounds also expands beyond homogeneous catalysts to molecular-defined supported catalysts which are expected to combine the precise mechanistic feature of homogeneous systems with the robustness of heterogeneous catalysts. Thus organometallic compounds are currently finding wider applications in material synthesis as well. This special issue invites contributions from areas where well-defined organometallic compounds contributed to the area of advanced material synthesis.

Prof. Dr. Jun Okuda
Guest Editor