“Metal-catalysis in Industrial Organic Processes” fills the gap in the market between textbooks on homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysis and treatises on particular processes, typically available in the form of specialist reviews. It is pitched as an “advanced general textbook for chemistry students and their teachers; it will also be welcomed by researchers in industrial and Government laboratories”. In my opinion these target audiences are very well catered for by this excellent textbook. The field of industrial catalysis is obviously enormous and yet has been well covered here in fewer than 300 pages. This makes the book an accessible work that describes many of the more important processes in sufficient depth, rather than an unwieldy tome.

The introduction (P. Howard, G. Morris and G. Sunley) gives a good overview of the general principles of catalysis in the industrial sector. These include the scales of various processes and factors that affect process development, such as economics, feedstock availability, safety and environmental considerations. Chapter 2 (M. G. Clerici, M. Ricci and G. Strukul) covers the formation of carbon–oxygen bonds by oxidation, beginning with the basic interactions of oxygen with transition metal centres. It then focuses on large-scale commercial applications such as the formation of adipic acid, terephthalic acid, ethylene oxide and phenols. Asymmetric epoxidation and dihydroxylation reactions are explored with regard to their application to the synthesis of fine chemical and pharmaceutical intermediates.

Chapter 3 (L. A. Oro, D. Carmona and J. M. Fraile) covers hydrogenation reactions, beginning with an overview of homogeneous and heterogeneous reaction pathways. The industrial application of heterogeneous catalysis focuses on the hydrotreating of petrochemicals, the hydrogenation of fats and the reduction of adiponitrile. Asymmetric homogeneous hydrogenation is covered in depth. Specific industrially important examples are given, including the syntheses of L-DOPA, (S)-metolachlor and (–)-menthol, all using rhodium-based catalysis. The next chapter (P. Maitlis and A. Haynes) describes industrial processes based on carbon monoxide. The first of the three main areas covered is the synthesis of acids and anhydrides from alcohol carbonylation reactions. The historical development of acetic acid synthesis leads on to the growth of the Monsanto (1) and BP Cativa™ (2) processes using rhodium and iridium respectively. Similarly, the section on hydroformylation covers the development of the cobalt-catalysed process through to the use of rhodium-based systems, with a concise description of asymmetric hydroformylation. The final part of the chapter focuses on the Fischer-Tropsch reaction.

Chapter 5 (F. Calderazzo, M. Catellani and G. P. Chiusoli) describes C–C bond-forming reactions. This starts with the use of Lewis acid catalysis in the alkylation of aromatic compounds and then progresses to palladium-catalysed coupling reactions. Industrially significant examples are given, including the synthesis of sartans for the pharmaceutical industry and the fungicide boscalid, this is followed by a particularly informative discussion on why palladium-catalysed cross-coupling reactions have not made the inroads into the industrial sector that might be expected. The next section of the chapter details the use of allylic substrates in industrial catalysis. This chapter also includes the oligomerisation of alkenes, for instance in the synthesis of alkenes for the Shell Higher Olefins Process (SHOP), as opposed to olefin polymerisation which is covered in depth in a later chapter (Chapter 7) by G. Fink and H.-H. Brintzinger. The SHOP process itself is covered in Chapter 6 (C. L. Dwyer) which details the metathesis of olefins, with ruthenium catalysis prominent. This chapter also describes emerging technologies that are likely to impact on future applications of metathesis in the commercial sector.