02/2015

Metal-metal bonded paddlewheel complexes have become established as priveledged catalysts, in particular in their role in mediating the reaction of carbenes and nitrenes. Possibly the key example of this reactivity is in the insertion of carbenes and nitrenes into unactivated C–H bonds.

This survey reviews the recent efforts aimed at probing the mechanism of these systems, with a particular emphasis on the detection and spectroscopic characterization of the proposed Rh–Rh=E species (E = carbene or nitrene). Work on the Ru paddlewheel complexes are also discussed.