Ferrocene and half sandwich complexes as catalysts with iron participation

Abstract

The unique and readily tunable electronic and spatial characteristics of ferrocenes have been widely exploited in the field of asymmetric catalysis. The ferrocene moiety is not just an innocent steric element to create a three-dimensional chiral catalyst environment. Instead, the Fe center can influence the catalytic process by electronic interaction with the catalytic site, if the latter is directly connected to the sandwich core. Of increasing importance are also half sandwich complexes in which Fe is acting as a mild Lewis acid. Like ferrocene, half sandwich complexes are often relatively robust and readily accessible. This chapter highlights recent applications of ferrocene and half sandwich complexes in which the Fe center is essential for catalytic applications. © 2011 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.