Pure and Applied Chemistry

Abstract: This overview describes the reaction of organometallics with oxide surfaces and the formation of highly reactive species. In the case of silica, the surface can be seen as a large siloxy ligand, which helps to stabilize reactive intermediates through site isolations. This is translated into very highly reactive and stable well-defined alkene metathesis catalysts as well as the formation of hydrides species, which display unusual reactivities toward alkanes (e.g., low-temperature hydrogenolysis and metathesis of alkanes). In the case of alumina, it allows the formation of highly reactive, but stable cationic species or masked carbenic species whose structures are unusual by comparison with molecular chemistry.