Progres report

This paper provides a brief resumé of our current researches in organometallic chemistry. The first deals with non-classical organolanthanoid chemistry, which has, as targets, subvalent compounds of the early 4f elements (La, Ce, Pr, Nd) and cationic organosamarium(II) and -ytterbium(II) complexes. The second is concerned with new aspects of metal amide chemistry including (a) silver(I) amides and isonitrile complexes of lithium amides; (b) derivatives of aromatic diamides such di(metalamino)cyclophanes; (c) metal silyl complexes derived from insertion of a stable silylene into M(II)N(SiMe3)2 (M  Ge, Sn or Pb) bonds; and (d) reactions of M′X compounds with 1,3,5-triazine [M′  Li or Na and X  N(SiMe3)2, C(SiMe3)3 or CH(SiMe3)2] The two other present areas (on subvalent compounds of Group 14 elements and metal 1-azaallyls, β-diketiminates and 1,3-diazaallyls) are reported more cursorily. The Introduction is divided into three section entitled ‘Relationship to the Journal of Organometallics Chemistry’, ‘Reviews (from 1956 to 1995)’ and ‘An outline of principal contributions’.