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Organometallics in Asia
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Frederick Hawthorne, Richard Heck, Robert Bao, Robert Grubbs, John Bercaw, Robert Bergman, Robert Crabtree, Tobin Marks, Charles Casey, Yao-Zeng Huang, Xiyan Lu, LiXin Dai, Changtao Qian, and many others, of course all at a young age. To our understanding, interactions with the top researchers in the field of organometallic chemistry from the USA and Japan initiated the later blossoming of organometallic chemistry research in China. Later on, returnees who received training from the best organometallic chemistry laboratories in the USA, Germany, UK, and Japan started to play leading roles in China. Among them, Professor Li-Cheng Song at Nankai University, a former visiting scholar in Dietmar Seyferth’s lab at MIT, served as the first Advisory Board member from the mainland of China for Organometallics (1992−1998). Currently, more and more young researchers working in China have their Ph.D. or postdoc background in the top overseas organometallic research groups. Most of the universities and institutes from China have organometallic chemistry courses for graduate students and have research groups that are fully dedicated to the research of organometallic chemistry. As an example, the State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry has 15 organometallic research groups with a broad research interest spectrum, such as the synthesis and characterization of organometallic compounds, OMCOS, metal-catalyzed asymmetric reactions, and metal-catalyzed olefin polymerization. You might agree with us that China has been the fastestgrowing country for basic research in the last 20 years. This is certainly also the case for organometallic chemistry. The fast growth of organometallic chemistry in China can be perceived by the growing number of its organometallic chemists in the last 10 years. For instance, the National Conference on Organometallic Chemistry of China has expanded rapidly from around 400 participants in 2008 (Nanjing) to 1000 in 2014 (Lanzhou). In 2015, 20.4% of the published manuscripts in Organometallics were from Asia. Among them, manuscripts from the mainland of China published in Organometallics account for 10.7% of the total, ranking the third after the USA (20.7%) and Germany (13.8%). With this special issue Organometallics in Asia, we present a collection of original papers that give our readers an overview of the synthetic organometallic chemistry and organometallic catalysis in Asia. However, we have to admit that such a special issue is in no way going to be comprehensive, given the vast number of related research groups in Asia. The special issue includes 35 papers from China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), Japan, Korea, and India. In spite of the limited room of this special issue, the chemistry is very diversified, as reflected in the variety of metal elements (Li, Zr, Ta, Cr, Fe, Ru, Co, Rh, Ni, Pd, Cu, Ag, Th, lanthanides, et al.) and ligands (carboranes, NHCs, Cps, phosphines, et al.) subjected to study, as well as the distinct and meaningful research goals (new organometallic
e are delighted to have this opportunity to organize a special issue for Organometallics, focused on organometallic chemistry in Asia. As believed by the editors of Organometallics, this region of the world produces outstanding organometallic chemistry and will continue to be one of the most dynamic research areas for organometallic chemistry in the years to come. A special issue showcasing the most significant results from Asian organometallic chemists is intended to illustrate the progress of organometallic chemistry in this region. Coincidentally, this year is also marked by the 35th anniversary of the establishment of Organometallics. We should be grateful to the people who established the journal, particularly Professor Dietmar Seyferth, and all those who helped to shape the journal to being a brand name of excellence in the field of organometallic chemistry. Organometallic chemistry has been a most fascinating research area since the first day of its birth and has produced exciting results, which have been affecting and continue to affect many areas, including those closely related with our daily life. Exploration into this area has not only deepened our understanding of the formation, structure, bonding, and reactivity of organometallic compounds but also has prompted advances in other fields, such as organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, material chemistry, nanoscience, etc. Metal catalysis, which so far represents the most successful application of organometallic chemistry, has enabled the development of versatile useful organic transformations and is well appreciated by our society, as shown by three trios of organometallic chemists being awarded the Nobel Prize since 2001 (Knowles, Noyori, and Sharpless in 2001; Chauvin, Grubbs, and Schrock in 2005; Heck, Negishi, and Suzuki in 2010). We will not be surprised to see more awards given to pioneers from this field in the not too distant future, as organometallic chemistry is still flourishing world wide. Despite the enormous development of organometallic chemistry, research in terms of region has never been balanced. This is also true for Asia. Programs in organometallic chemistry have been actively pursued for a long time in Japan but have been somehow neglected in many other countries of this region. The fast development of organometallic chemistry in Japan after World War II resulted in dozens of name reactions utilizing organometallic compounds as the key elements. Today, the research from Japan in the field of organometallic chemistry remains the top-tier class in the world and is a leader in the Asian region. The early exposure of Chinese scientists on the mainland to international state-of-the-art organometallic chemistry dates back to the China−Japan−USA Trilateral Seminar on Organometallic Chemistry in the 1980s (Beijing, 1980; Shanghai, 1982; Santa Cruz, 1984; Tsukuba, 1986) (Figure 1). The first two meetings were held in China, with Professor Yao-Zeng Huang being the Chinese organizer, and the fifth meeting, planned to be in Chengdu in 1989, was canceled due to an unexpected issue. The participants in these conferences included Akio Yamamoto, Akira Nakamura, Akira Suzuki, Jiro Tsuji, M. © 2016 American Chemical Society
Special Issue: Organometallics in Asia Published: May 23, 2016 1341
DOI: 10.1021/acs.organomet.6b00338 Organometallics 2016, 35, 1341−1342
Organometallics
Editor's Page
Figure 1. First China−Japan−USA Trilateral Seminar on Organometallic Chemistry in Beijing, China, June 10−13, 1980 (photo provided by Lixin Dai).
compounds with novel structural features and reactivity, novel organometallic reagents and catalysts for organic synthesis, efficient metal catalysts for olefin polymerization, efficient catalysts for H2 production, reaction mechanism elucidation, and so on). We thank our authors for their contributions and the reviewers for their helpful comments and hope these papers will further stimulate worldwide interest in the field of organometallic chemistry.
Liang Deng Shuli You
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Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS.
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DOI: 10.1021/acs.organomet.6b00338 Organometallics 2016, 35, 1341−1342
