Regioselectivity, stereoselectivity and catalysis in intermolecular Pauson-Khand reactions: Teaching an old dog new tricks

Since its discovery in the early seventies the intermolecular Pauson-Khand reaction has made considerable progress towards a powerful synthetic method. This account describes the major accomplishments with respect to reactivity, stereoselectivity and catalytic versions, which have been achieved over the last decade and summarizes mechanistic information being obtained by theoretical and experimental studies.