Carbon oxygenate transformations by actinide compounds and catalysts

Carbon oxygenates represent an increasingly important class of feedstock in the development of a sustainable chemical economy. Their catalytic transformation into value-added chemicals is a crucial target, because it would reduce our ties to fossil fuels and non-renewable resources. In this Review, we discuss the unique reactivity offered by actinide metal complexes with respect to s-, p- and d-block metals resulting from the chemical properties particular to these metals. This reactivity is governed by large ionic radii, high coordination numbers, kinetic lability, the involvement of f orbitals in bonding, and single-electron redox processes or sigma-bond metathesis, which are distinct from the oxidative addition and reductive elimination pathways commonly seen for catalysts derived from d-block metals. We conclude with a discussion of the current progress in the use of these complexes towards catalytic transformations of oxygenated hydrocarbons.