Pentamethylcyclopentadienyl Iridium(III) Metallacycles Applied to Homogeneous Catalysis for Fine Chemical Synthesis

Pentamethylcyclopentadienyl cyclometallated complexes have been used to catalyse a variety of organic transformations over the last decades. However, the huge potential of pentamethylcyclopentadienyl iridacycles has only been truly recognised in recent years. Indeed, an upsurge of reports on such new half‐sandwich iridium(III) metallacycles has been observed. The application of these organometallic complexes in various homogeneous catalysed organic reactions has led to the development of environmentally and economically beneficial routes towards important and highly functionalised fine chemicals. Studied reactions include hydrogenation, amine alkylation, dehydrogenation, oxidation and hydrofunctionalisation reactions as well as dynamic kinetic resolutions (DKR). This minireview focusses specifically on the recent applications of half‐sandwich iridium(III) metallacycles in such processes.