Homogeneous Catalysis by Cobalt and Manganese Pincer Complexes

Homogeneous catalysis of organic transformations by metal complexes has been mostly based on complexes of noble metals. In recent years, tremendous progress has been made in the field of base-metal catalysis, mostly with pincer-type complexes, such as iron, cobalt, nickel, and manganese pincer systems. Particularly impressive is the explosive growth in the catalysis by Mn-based pincer complexes, the first such complexes being reported as recently as 2016. This review covers recent progress in the field of homogeneously catalyzed reactions using pincer-type complexes of cobalt and manganese. Various reactions are described, including acceptorless dehydrogenation, hydrogenation, dehydrogenative coupling, hydrogen borrowing, hydrogen transfer, H–X additions, C–C coupling, alkene polymerization and N2 fixation, including their scope and brief mechanistic comments.