Applied homogeneous catalysis by organometallic complexes

The overview describes the industrial application of homogeneous catalysts for the chemical industry. In the first part, some theoretical background i s given on organometallic complexes and homogeneous catalysis followed by a description of the prerequisites and current problems for their industrial application. Selected examples of industrially useful catalysts for the ma nufacture of bulk and fine chemicals are described for the following transf ormations: enantioselective hydrogenation, isomerization and epoxidation fo r producing enantiomerically enriched products; the application of the Heck reaction, the Suzuki and Sonogashira coupling and the carbonylation reacti on for the manufacture of intermediates for pharmaceuticals and agrochemica ls; the application of the carbonylation technology for the large-scale pro duction of acetic acid and butyraldehydes. In the last part, future prospec ts of the industrial application of homogeneous catalysis are briefly discu ssed.