Chapter 7: Homogeneous catalytic transformations investigated by EPR spectroscopy Check Access

Catalytic reactions are used to drive a large number of important chemical transformations. In general, these catalytic reactions are more energy efficient and produce less waste. Therefore new catalysts are constantly being developed for a wide range of applications ranging from alternative energy sources to synthesis of pure drugs. Many of these catalyzed reactions involve paramagnetic redox centres and reactive intermediates, so a detailed understanding of their role in the mechanistic pathways is required in order to improve the catalyst design. In this chapter, we will provide an overview to illustrate how EPR is used to characterise various transition metal based homogeneous catalysts, by focusing on the literature from the past five years.