Even some fifty years after their discovery, transition metals have lost none of their fascination. The use of complex compounds in these elements has not only revolutionized synthesis in the laboratory, but has also led to them playing an important role in many industrial applications. Each year, millions of tons of plastics are produced around the world and, by varying the ligands in the catalytically active compounds, the properties of the resulting polymers can even be tailored for use.

For this purpose, sandwich compounds from early transition metals have been common until now, but interest has focused increasingly on the late transition metals. In this book, the world's leading authors from research and industry discuss the latest developments in research into palladium, zinc, iron and nickel catalysis. In so doing, they systematically introduce readers to the basic principles and illustrate how these innovative catalysts can be effectively used for polymerizations. The result is an ideal reference work, invaluable for every organic chemist working in catalysis or polymer research.