Formation and reactivity of organometallic alkane complexes

Organometallic alkane complexes are highly reactive species that have been shown to be key intermediates in the C-H activation of alkanes by transition metal centres. Organometallic alkane complexes were first identified in low temperature matrices over 30 years ago and now sufficiently long-lived examples have been characterised by NMR spectroscopy. We provide a brief overview of the study of these key reactive intermediates and describe recent studies on the characterisation of organometallic alkane complexes and their related C-H activation using fast time-resolved infrared (TRIR) spectroscopy. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.