Advances in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis with metal-containing silsesquioxanes

Metal-containing silsesquioxane derivatives provide new catalysts with both homogeneous and heterogeneous applicability. The steric and electronic properties of silsesquioxane silanolate ligands render metal centers more Lewis acidic than conventional alkoxide or siloxide ligands do. This concept has been exploited in newly developed catalysts for alkene metathesis, polymerization, epoxidation, and Diels-Alder reactions of enones. Other applications are envisioned in the near future.