催化剂是可以在不改变反应的总体吉布斯自由能变化的情况下提高反应速率。它可以是酶、金属络合物或有机分子。与酶相比，化学催化剂，包括过渡金属催化剂(通常来源于配体和过渡金属)和有机催化剂，体积小，种类多，易于修饰，因此它们在有机化学中得到了大量的应用。配体/催化剂，特别是手性配体/催化剂，在现代合成化学中发挥了至关重要的作用，使化学家能够开发出许多新的化学反应，能良好地控制化学、区域、立体和/或对映体选择性。近几十年来，各种各样的配体/催化剂被开发出来，极大地丰富了化学家进行有机合成的工具箱，并在这些催化剂的帮助下实现了大量具有挑战性的化学转化。最近SYNLETT出版了一期专刊，介绍和讨论近年来开发的几种新型催化剂和有趣的反应。

本次专刊的客座编辑为华东理工大学的张志鹏教授和上海师范大学的赵宝国教授。

Zhang, Zhipeng; Zhao, Baoguo:

Cluster Preface: Development and Applications of Novel Ligands/Catalysts and Mechanistic Studies on Catalysis

Takeshima, Aika; Kano, Taichi:

The Design and Synthesis of Phenylcyclopropane-Based Secondary Amine Catalysts and Their Applications in Asymmetric Reactions

Liu, Wei; Wang, Donglei; Zhang, Dekun; Yang, Xiaoyu:

Catalytic Kinetic Resolution and Desymmetrization of Amines

Pan, Shulei; Zhu, Qiongqiong; Zhang, Yanghui:

Palladium-Catalyzed Coupling of Biphenyl-2-yl Trifluoromethanesulfonates with Dibromomethane to Access Fluorenes

Hayashi, Yujiro; Hatano, Yutaro; Mori, Naoki:

Asymmetric Michael Reaction of Malononitrile and α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes Catalyzed by Diarylprolinol Silyl Ether

Dong, Zhan; Zhong, Dayou; Li, Zi-Meng; Liu, Wei-Min; Zhao, Jing; Liu, Wen-Bo:

Palladium-Catalyzed Stereospecific Coupling of BINOL-bistriflates and Zinc Cyanide and Applications in the Synthesis of 1,1′-Binaphthyl-2,2′-bisoxazolines (BOXAX)

Brennan, Therese B.; Müller-Bunz, Helge; Guiry, Patrick J.:

The Synthesis of Novel P,N-Ferrocenylpyrrolidine-Containing Ligands and Their Application in Pd-Catalyzed Allylic Alkylation – A Synthetic and Mechanistic Investigation

Wang, Chengyi; Deng, Shaomin; Chen, Rui; Liu, Guohua; Cheng, Tanyu; Liu, Rui: