Organometallic chemistry

Organometallic chemistry studies compounds with direct bonds between carbon and metal atoms, focusing on their structures, reactions, and uses in synthesis and catalysis.

Hapticity: A measure of how many contiguous atoms in a ligand bind simultaneously to a metal center. It describes how carbon-based ligands such as cyclopentadienyl attach to metals.
Migratory insertion: An organometallic reaction in which a ligand migrates onto a coordinated unsaturated ligand, forming a new bond. It converts metal–alkyl and carbon monoxide ligands into acyl complexes.
Cross-coupling reaction: A reaction that joins two molecular fragments, commonly through a transition-metal catalyst. Organometallic intermediates make these carbon–carbon bond-forming methods possible.
Geoffrey Wilkinson: A British chemist who advanced organometallic chemistry and shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His work on ferrocene and transition-metal complexes helped shape modern bonding models.
Organic chemistry: The study of carbon-containing compounds, their structures, properties, reactions, and synthesis. It typically focuses on covalent carbon compounds without direct carbon–metal bonds.
Oxidative addition: A reaction in which a metal inserts into a bond, increasing its oxidation state and coordination number. It is a common way organometallic complexes activate strong bonds.
Reductive elimination: A reaction in which two ligands on a metal form a bond and depart as a molecule, lowering the metal’s oxidation state. It often releases the newly formed organic product in metal-catalyzed coupling.
Olefin metathesis: A reaction that exchanges carbon substituents between carbon–carbon double bonds. Metal carbene catalysts rearrange alkene fragments through organometallic intermediates.
Ernst Otto Fischer: A German chemist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on organometallic compounds. His structural studies of sandwich compounds helped establish their unusual bonding.
Inorganic chemistry: The study of chemical compounds and materials beyond the traditional scope of organic chemistry. Organometallic chemistry bridges inorganic metal centers and organic carbon frameworks.

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