This tutorial review describes recent progress in the development of homogeneous catalytic methodology for the direct generation of hydrogen gas from formic acid and alcohols.

A review of recent developments in the use of iron catalysts for asymmetric transformations, including hydrogenations, transfer hydrogenation, hydrosilylation and oxidation reactions.

In this account, we describe the design, synthesis and applications of tethered versions of the Ru(II)/N‐tosyl‐1,2‐diphenylethylene‐1,2‐diamine (TsDPEN) class of catalyst that are commonly used for asymmetric transfer hydrogenation and asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones and imines. The review covers key aspects of the reaction mechanisms and examples of applications, including industrial applications to pharmaceutically important target molecules. In addition, closely related catalysts based on Rh(III) and Ir(III) are also described. image

A Rh/tetramethylcyclopentadienyl complex containing a tethered functionality has been demonstrated to give excellent results in the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones in both aqueous and formic acid/triethylamine media.