Chemical Society Reviews publishes accessible, succinct and reader-friendly articles on topics of current interest in the chemical sciences.
Tutorial Review
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2006, 35, 237 - 248, DOI: 10.1039/b515269k
Mechanistic aspects of transition metal-catalyzed hydrogen transfer reactions
Joseph S. M. Samec, Jan-E. Bäckvall, Pher G. Andersson and Peter Brandt
In this tutorial review recent mechanistic studies on transition metal-catalyzed hydrogen transfer reactions are discussed. A common feature of these reactions is that they involve metal hydrides, which may be monohydrides or dihydrides. An important question is whether the substrate coordinates to the metal (inner-sphere hydrogen transfer) or if there is a direct concerted transfer of hydrogen from the metal to substrate (outer-sphere hydrogen transfer). Both experimental and theoretical studies are reviewed.

