Perspectives in reductive lanthanide chemistry

For several decades the reductive chemistry of the lanthanide metals in sol uble, fully characterized molecular species has focused primarily on just t hree elements: europium, ytterbium, and samarium. Recent developments sugge st that the reductive chemistry of the lanthanides is likely to expand grea tly beyond these three elements in the new millennium and will be a major a rea of advancement in lanthanide inorganic, organometallic, and coordinatio n chemistry. This paper previews some possibilities in this held. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.