Preface: Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, Volume 670, Issues 1–2

The renaissance of organometallic chemistry in the 1950s was driven by the discovery of the archetypal complex ferrocene with its π-donor cyclopentadienyl ligands and their arene-like chemistry, the anniversary of which has been celebrated recently in this journal. Complexes with σ-donor organic ligands have also been the subject of considerable attention over the past half century, compounds with alkyl groups in particular featuring in industrially-important catalytic transformations, and consequently the subject of much detailed mechanistic and reaction chemistry. Metal acetylide complexes are important organometallic compounds with σ-donor unsaturated organic ligands, the first examples of which were prepared in the 1950s. The study of metal acetylide complexes has gained momentum in recent years due not only to interest in the basic chemistry of these complexes and their potential applications in well-established areas such as homogeneous catalysis, but also in recently-explored fields such as nonlinear optics, conducting materials, and artificial light-harvesting chromophores. The heightened interest in metal acetylide chemistry and physics makes it particularly apropos to provide a snap-shot of the field and, with this in mind, leading experts in metal acetylide chemistry were invited to contribute to this Special Issue. I thank them all for their valued contributions which, it is hoped, will stimulate further study in this burgeoning area of research.