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Research on bite angle effects of diphosphines in C–C and C–X bond forming cross coupling reactions from the group of Piet van Leeuwen reaches the cover in Chemical Society Reviews

The critical review Bite angle effects of diphosphines in C–C and C–X bond forming cross coupling reactions (Chem. Soc. Rev. 2009, 38, 1099-1118), co-authored by Mandy-Nicole Birkholz (née Gensow), Zoraida Freixa and Piet W. N. M. van Leeuwen, has been highlighted on the front-cover of Chemical Society Reviews on issue 4, with an illustration performed by Marta Guerrero (ICIQ).

Catalytic reactions of C–C and C–X bond formation are discussed in this critical review with particular emphasis on cross coupling reactions catalyzed by palladium and wide bite angle bidentate diphosphine ligands. Similarities with hydrocyanation and CO/ethene/MeOH reactions have been highlighted by the team of van Leeuwen, while rhodium hydroformylation has been mentioned as a contrasting example, in which predictability is high and steric and electronic effects follow smooth trends.