Mechanistic studies of transition metal-mediated C-C bond activation.

Organometallic compounds have been found to be of use in cleaving C-C bonds, as strong metal-carbon bonds can be formed to replace the bond that is broken. Studies of the mechanism of C-C cleavage can provide insight into how these bonds can be cleaved, and can give valuable information that can be used to develop new strategies for breaking C-C bonds and using the products in catalysis. In this chapter, we will examine a number of systems where mechanistic information has been obtained in C-C cleavage.