Supramolecular ligand-ligand and ligand-substrate interactions for highly selective transition metal catalysis

The use of non covalent supramolecular ligand–ligand and ligand–substrate interactions in transition metal-catalysed transformations is a new, rapidly emerging area of research. Non-covalent interactions between monodentate ligands such as hydrogen bonding, coordinative bonding, ion pairing, p–p interactions and the formation of inclusion compounds, have been shown to impart higher activity and chemo-, regio-, and stereoselectivity to the corresponding transition metal complexes in a number of catalytic applications. Analogously, supramolecular ligand–substrate interactions, and particularly hydrogen bonding, have been used to direct the regio- and stereochemistry of several metal-catalysed reactions. The catalytic systems relying on supramolecular interactions are generally capable of self-assembling from simpler components in the environment where catalysis is to take place, and are therefore very well-suited for combinatorial catalyst discovery strategies and high-throughput screening.