Despite this, the use of organoiron complexes in organic synthesis has been somewhat restricted compared with, for example, palladium, rhodium and other metals that are mainly used in catalytic processes.

The Organic Chemistry of Iron, Volume 1 covers the structures and bonding and the applications of a variety of physical techniques to organo-iron compounds, optically active compounds, as well as chapters on ?-bonded, ?2-, ?3-, and ?4-organo-iron compounds. The book discusses the structure and bonding in organic iron compounds; NMR spectroscopy of organoiron compounds; and mass spectra. The text also describes Mössbauer spectroscopy; magnetic properties; electron paramagnetic resonance; and optical activity of iron. Compounds with iron-carbon?-bonds; monoolefin iron complexes; allyl iron complexes; and diene iron complexes are also considered. The stabilization of unstable species with carbonyliron is also encompassed.

The Organic Chemistry of Iron, Volume 2 covers a series of selected topics in organo-iron chemistry, including complexes with poly-olefins, arenes, and sulfur-containing ligands, as well as an account of iron-metal bonds. The book discusses the iron complexes of trienes, tetraenes, and polyenes; the arene complexes; the compounds with iron-metal bonds and clusters; and the complexes with sulfur-containing ligands.

Juan I. Padrón and Víctor S. Martín: Catalysis by means of Fe-based Lewis acids; Hiroshi Nakazawa*, Masumi Itazaki: Fe–H Complexes in Catalysis; Kristin Schröder, Kathrin Junge, Bianca Bitterlich, and Matthias Beller: Fe-catalyzed Oxidation Reactions of Olefins, Alkanes and Alcohols: Involvement of Oxo- and Peroxo Complexes; Chi-Ming Che, Cong-Ying Zhou, Ella Lai-Ming Wong: Catalysis by Fe=X Complexes (X=NR, CR2); René Peters, Daniel F. Fischer and Sascha Jautze: Ferrocene and Half Sandwich Complexes as Catalysts with Iron Participation; Markus Jegelka, Bernd Plietker: Catalysis by Means of Complex Ferrates.

This first comprehensive book to cover this exciting field also deals with the biological aspects, such as enzymes with iron. Following an introduction, this handy reference and handbook goes on to deal with reductions, oxidations of C, H- and C=C bonds, oxidative allylic oxygenation and amination, the oxidation of heteroatoms, cross coupling reactions, aromatic and nucleophilic substitutions, addition to carbonyl compounds, and cyclisations as well as ring opening reactions. The chapters are clearly classified according to the reaction type, allowing readers to quickly locate the desired information.

The understanding of functional groups is key for the understanding of all organic chemistry. In the tradition of Patai’s Chemistry of Functional Groups each volume in this series treats all aspects of functional groups. Each volume contains chapters on a wide range of topics. Starting with theoretical aspects, this volume moves to analytical methods, such as thermochemistry, mass spectrometry and Mössbauer spectroscopy. This is followed by some general organic chemistry contributions on different classes of iron compounds such as Ferrocenes. This culminates in a range of articles hightlighting the use of organoiron compounds as reagents and as catalysts.