Catalytic activation of hydrogen, silicon, and fluorine by transition-metal complexes*,**

The remarkable versatility of palladium catalysis is exemplified by recent work in two distinct areas. Firstly, coupling chemistry is discussed, in which the reactive entity is generated by cleavage of a C–H or C–Si bond. The second part concerns the activation of allylic C–F bonds, where divergence from the normal stereochemical pattern of the reaction was observed.