Homogeneous Carbon Monoxide Homologation

The homogeneous activation and homologation of carbon monoxide remains a challenging and highly attractive area of chemical research. This is due in part to the fundamental synthetic interest of using highly reactive complexes, spanning the full breadth of the periodic table, for small molecule activation and in part due to the potential relevance of these reactions to the mechanistic investigation of Fischer–Tropsch (F–T) catalysis. This chapter will focus on the stoichiometric activation of carbon monoxide by a range of elements, covering both classic examples and state-of-the-art developments and showcasing the diverse and unusual reactions and products, which often result.