Methane: a new frontier in organometallic chemistry

Abstract

The base hydrocarbon of natural gas, methane, is one of the most unreactive hydrocarbons in terms of C–H bond dissociation enthalpy, ionization potential, and pK_a. A perspective on the C–H activation of this potent greenhouse gas, by homogeneous and well-defined organometallic complexes is presented, with an emphasis on several recent advances in this field.