Among items appearing in this issue are the following:

The catalytic conversions of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones are very important reactions for the preparation of many key synthetic intermediate compounds in organic chemistry. Many of the best oxidants for these reactions contain high oxidation state ruthenium catalysts, which produce little or no over-oxidation products and the reactions can take place under mild conditions with easy work-up conditions. Holger B. Friedrich from the University of Natal, South Africa, describes the more viable ruthenium oxidants currently available and some investigations into the mechanisms of their reactions.

The 3rd Anglo-Dutch Symposium on Organometallic Chemistry and Applied Catalysis, held at the University of Sheffield in March, is reviewed by Berth-Jan Deelman from Elf Atochem Vlissingen B.V., The Netherlands. He describes a wide range of technological developments using platinum metals, including: the direct synthesis of chiral epoxides, the selective hydroformylation of internal olefins to linear aldehydes, the development of fluorous catalysts and ammonia oxidation.

Simon P. Fricker, Director of Biology, AnorMED Inc., Canada, reviews the book "Cisplatin: Chemistry and Biochemistry of a Leading Anticancer Drug", edited by Bernhard Lippert and published by Wiley-VCH. The book reports the achievements, progress and new developments in cisplatin antitumour research since its antitumour activity was first reported in 1969.

Living (well-controlled) radical polymerisation has become an important technique in precision polymer synthesis to construct structurally well-defined polymers. T. Nishikawa, M. Kamigaito and M. Sawamoto from Kyoto University in Japan have developed a Ru(II)-mediated living radical suspension polymerisation of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in water and alcohols. The resulting polymers have high, controlled molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions.

The new SULEV (super ultra low emissions vehicle) legislation which is to be adopted in California demands further highly significant reductions in the polluting emissions from automobiles, and in the rest of the world emissions standards are improving. Technologies to meet these demands were described at the annual congress of the Society of Automotive Engineers held in Detroit in April. Martyn V. Twigg of Johnson Matthey Catalytic Systems Division reviews the congress and the emissions technology being developed to support these advances.

Thin-film ruthenium-based devices which emit red light at high brightness and efficiency have been made by a team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S.A. The devices can operate at low voltage and have luminance levels which are unprecedented in solid-state ruthenium devices.

Platinum nanoparticles are expected to have future use as catalysts as they have very high surface areas. Two methods for forming them are reported, one, from the Osaka Prefecture University and the Research Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Osaka, Japan, uses sonochemistry in an aqueous system to produce spherical platinum particles; the other, from Texas A&M University, U.S.A. uses a ‘starburst’ dendrimer template in which platinum complexes are trapped, prior to reduction. The novel surface of the dendrimer allows access to substrates. This dendrimer/nanocluster is electrocatalytically active for oxygen reduction.

Work by Professor R. J. Angelici and H. Gao of Iowa State University, U.S.A., on combined homogeneous and heterogenous catalysts, where synergistic effects are obtained by tethering a homogeneous platinum metal catalyst onto a silica-supported but different platinum metal heterogeneous catalyst, is described by David T. Thompson. These ‘tethered complex on a supported metal’ TCSM catalysts have been used very effectively for hydrogenations and hydroformylations. The catalyst may have a wide range of industrial chemical processing applications.

Muhammad Arif Malik and Salman Akbar Malik from PINSTECH and Quaid-i-Azam University, respectively, in Islamabad, Pakistan, review some applications of platinum metals catalysts in the abatement of volatile organic compounds and in the partial oxidation of methane using cold-plasma techniques. Combining cold-plasma techniques with catalysis produces a synergistic effect and some useful products have been made by methane oxidation.

A physical phenomenon seen on introducing hydrogen into palladium, followed by processing, which results in the palladium-hydrogen alloy having enhanced properties,"hydrogen-phase naklep", is described by Professor V. A. Goltsov from Donetsk State Technical University, Ukraine. High strength states may be generated during courses of charging palladium with hydrogen and phase transformations.

The life and work of Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, the discoverer of the catalytic effect of platinum is described on the occasion of a "Festkolloquium", held at the Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena, Germany, on the 150th anniversary of his death. Professor George B. Kauffman, of the California State University, describes the achievements of this ‘self-made’ man, who invented, in the early 1800s, a pneumatic gas lighter, the Feuerzeug, using the catalytic ignition of hydrogen by platinum.

The July 1999 issue ends with a selection of abstracts of the most recently published literature and patents.

Platinum Metals Review is available on the internet from the publications section of the Platinum Today site or from the host site www.ingentaselect.com.

Susan V. Ashton
Editor

Anyone with an active interest in the platinum group metals and their uses who does not have ready access to a copy of Platinum Metals Review and who may benefit from reading it, is invited to request a specimen copy from:

The Editor, Johnson Matthey PLC, Orchard Road, Royston, Hertfordshire SG8 5HE, United Kingdom; Fax +44 (0) 1763 256359; Email jmpmr@matthey.com