Organometallic chemistry at the threshold of a new millennium. Retrospect
and prospect*
Jack Halpern
Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago,
5735 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Abstract: The evolution of organometallic chemistry during the
second half of the 20th century has transformed chemical
science and technology to a degree and in ways that have rarely been
matched throughout the history of chemistry. These include the discovery
of radically new types of chemical compounds; novel structures and bonding
modes; unprecedented reactivity patterns; unsuspected roles of organometallic
chemistry in biology; powerful new synthetic methodologies; new materials;
and whole new classes of catalysts and catalytic processes of extraordinary
versatility and selectivity. The impact of these developments, which
still are unfolding, has been truly revolutionary. Some milestones in
this remarkable chapter of chemical history, as well as challenges and
opportunities confronting organometallic chemistry today, will be examined.
* Lecture presented at the XIXth International Conference
on Organometallic Chemistry (XIX ICOMC) , Shanghai, China, 23-28 July
2000. Other presentations are published in this issue, pp. 205-376.
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