Organometallic chemistry is the chemistry of compounds containing metal-carbon bonds. It encompasses a wide variety of chemical compounds, including those containing main group metals, transition metals, actinides, and lanthanides. Aside from their intrinsically interesting nature, many organometallic compounds form useful catalysts and consequently are of significant commercial interest. Organometallic compounds are also being used increasingly as selective reagents in organic synthesis, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, and as precursors to new materials.

Organometallic activities in our Department include the development of selective homogeneous catalysts, synthesis and study of metallabenzenes (transition metal-containing analogues of benzene) and other aromatic metallacycles, investigations of main group carbene analogues, including silylenes and germylenes, and the development of techniques for producing nanoscale materials from organometallic precursors.