Tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amines-based metal complexes as versatile scaffold in catalysis

Beyond its extensive use in coordination chemistry, tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (TPMA) has become a valuable scaffold for catalysis, where its combination of rigidity, modularity and conformational dynamics enables the stabilization of reactive metal species. This review focuses on TPMA-based complexes in homogeneous catalysis, highlighting both well-established roles, such as iron and manganese oxo intermediates, cobalt in energy transformations, or copper in atom transfer radical chemistry, and more recent applications involving other transition metals. Across these systems, unifying principles emerge: small changes in ligand environment can redirect selectivity, second-sphere effects are often decisive, and nuclearity governs mechanistic pathways.