Platinum Metals Review - Volume 27, Issue 3, 1983

The development of artificial photosynthesis units capable of converting solar energy into useful chemical products is still at a very preliminary stage, although some progress has been made during the last few years. Most work concerns the photodissociation of water, and this paper considers the two basic strategies that are being followed. Both of these require the use of a catalyst and, to date, platinum metal catalysts have proved to be the most efficient. With many laboratories actively investigating photodissociation, rapid progress should ensue.

Ruthenium and its complexes can be used to catalyse the oxidation, both homogeneous and heterogeneous, of a wide range of organic substrates. These include olefins, alkynes, arenes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, ethers, sulphides, amines, and phosphines. A wide variety of oxidants can be used under mild conditions; conversions and selectivities are usually high, and the catalyst can be easily recovered. Ruthenium can also be used to catalyse the oxidative destruction of pollutants in both gas and liquid phases.