INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES OF THE CONFERENCE ON HORIZONS IN ORGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY

In every generation, achievements in science have served mankind. The progress accomplished stimulates the next generation to even greater achievements, which may take the form of increasing, crystallizing, or detailing existing theories. Other forms, generally resulting from persistance and enlightened fortune, open new areas of investigation previously unimagined and have an impact that may be felt for many years. An example of this latter form of achievement was the preparation and elucidation of the structure of dicyclopentadienyl iron (ferrocene, reported in 1951, dibenzenechromium iodide, triphenylchromium tris-tetrahydrofuranate, and olefinmetal m-complexes) which provided an introduction to new types of chemical bonds, the sigma carbon-transition metal bond and the metal wcomplex bond. Initial progress in the field of organometallic chemistry followed the lines of interest generated separately by organic and inorganic chemistry. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that organometallic Chemistry is not only bridging both fields but also crosslinking many fields of science. The stabilization and isolation of both cyclobutadiene and benzene derivatives were first achieved by their isolation as transition-metal organometallics because of academic interest. However, industrial processes such as the Ziegler-Natta olefin polymerization, the Wacker oxidation of ethylene to aldehydes and ketones, and the hydroformylation of olefins, among others, have provided practical applications for achievements in organometalnc chemistry. Still to be determined are the exact role of organometallics in many metal biological functions and processes such as nitrogen fixation by nitrogenase and multifunctions of vitamin B l r and functions of organomercury as a pollutant and catalytic functions in fuel cells. During the past two decades of the 1950s and 19&, organometallic chemistry has made rapid progress and rather explosive development. Although the number of publications on organometallic chemistry is still increasing in the 197Os, no remarkable discoveries have been yet reported. At this conference, the leaders in organometallic chemistry presented their foremost investigations and discussed their future prospects. This monograph includes papers presented before the conference and allows the reader to foresee trends in future developments in one of the most significant interdisciplinary areas of science, organometal I ic chemistry.