Ozonolysis in coordination chemistry and catalysis: recent advances

Abstract

Ozone, as produced by conventional commercial silent discharge ozonisers with a dioxygen carrier atmosphere, can be used to prepare in a simple manner a number of coordination complexes of the transition metals, lanthanides and actinides in which the central metal has a high oxidation state. A number of the species thus produced have the potential to function as catalysts for useful and specific homogeneous organic oxidation reactions. Ozone can also be used as an environmentally acceptable co-oxidant for a number of homogeneous metal-catalysed oxidation reactions of organic substrates. Recent developments in all these areas are reviewed here.