Cooperative effects in multimetallic complexes applied in catalysis

Abstract

The field of multimetallic catalysis is rapidly developing and some multimetallic complexes catalyze organic transformations to yield the desired products in more efficient ways owing to the combined action of different metals in a cooperative fashion. This Concept article describes the recent advances of cooperative catalysis playing in multimetallic systems such as homo‐multimetallic complexes with short metal‐metal distances, homo‐multimetallic complexes with long metal‐metal distances, hetero‐multimetallic complexes and metallocene‐based multimetallic complexes with special attention towards redox‐switchable catalysis. Examples are illustrated in which the use of multimetallic complexes show clear enhancement of catalytic outcomes when compared with the sum of their corresponding mononuclear counterparts. Furthermore, several examples are discussed showing the effects of electronic communication in cooperative systems.