In the last 15 years aqueous organometallic chemistry and catalysis has emerged from being a laboratory curiosity to become an established field of research. Topics reviewed here include mechanistic studies on the effect of water on catalyzed reactions, the preparation of water soluble phosphines as ligands for catalysis, metal catalyzed organic reactions in water (hydrogenation, hydroformylation, carbonylation, olefin metathesis, hydrophosphination, etc.), chiral ligands and enantioselective catalysis, organometallic radical photochemistry in aqueous solutions, bioorganometallic chemistry, organometallic reactions of biopolymers, and catalytic modification of biomembranes. The summary of recent results is supplemented by an assessment of probable future research trends. Audience: Researchers in both academia and industry, as well as graduate students of homogeneous catalysis.

Inhalt
Summary of the Round Table Discussion of the State of the Art and Future Directions of Aqueous Organometallic Chemistry and Catalysis.- Transition Metal Catalyzed Reactions of Olefins in Water: Olefin Metathesis and Isomerization.- Aqueous Organometallic Chemistry: Effects of a Reactive Solvent.- Aqueous Chemistry and Catalytic Activity of Organometallic Iridium Complexes.- Organometallic Radical Chemistry in Aqueous Solution.- The Use of 1,3,5-Triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA), a Water- Soluble, Air Stable Ligand, in Organometallic Chemistry and Catalysis.- Recent Developments in Metal Catalyzed Biphasic Reactions.- Counter Phase Transfer Catalysis by Water-Soluble Phosphine Complexes.- Metal-Catalyzed Hydrophosphination as a Route to Water-Soluble Phosphines.- Aqueous Media in the Intramolecular Heck Reaction.- New Efficient Water-Soluble Catalysts for Two-Phase Olefin Hydroformylation.- Rhodium and Palladium Water-Soluble Complexes in the Carbonylation Reactions. Improvement in the Transfer Between the Organic and Aqueous Phases.- New Water Soluble Phosphines for Organometallic Chemistry and Catalysis in the Aqueous Phase.- Hexaaquaruthenate(II) as Catalyst Precursor in Aqueous Organometallic Catalysis.- Ruthenium-Catalyzed Oxidation of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons in Aqueous Medium.- Hydrosoluble Ligands for a New Technology.- Comparative Study of Biphase Reduction of Carbonyl Compounds Catalyzed by Homogeneous and Water Soluble Ru Catalysts.- Three Approaches to Catalytic Aqueous Organometallic Chemistry Involving Water Soluble Ligands, Some Modified Cyclodextrins as Ligands, and Reactions in an Aluminophosphate Cavity.- Models for Supported Aqueous-Phase Catalysis.- Stoichiometric and Exhaustive Hydrolysis of N,N-Dialkylcarbamates.- Composite Hydrogels of the Polysaccharide/Polyvalent Metal Type.- Organometallic Catalysis in Water and in a Two-Phase System.- Chiral Sulfonated Phosphines in Enantioselective Catalysis.- Asymmetric Complex Catalysis in Micellar Systems.- Bioorganometallic Chemistry: The Reaction of a (?5-Pentamethyl-cyclopentadienyl)rhodium Aqua Complex with Nucleobases, Nucleosides, Nucleotides, and Oligonucleotides.- On Nature's Aqueous Organometallic and Radical Chemistry with B12-Derivatives.- Catalytic Hydrogenation of Biological Membranes: The Effects on Membrane Physical State and Functions.- Aqueous Phospholipid Dispersions as Vectors for Selective Homogeneous Catalysis.- Modification of Biomembranes by Catalytic Hydrogenation.- Author Index.