Positional and Geometrical Isomerisation of Alkenes: The Pinnacle of Atom Economy.

Strategies to achieve spatiotemporal regulation of pre‐existing alkenes via external stimuli are essential given the ubiquity of feedstock olefins in chemistry and their downstream applications. Mirroring the 1‐0 switch that underpins mammalian vision through selective geometric isomerisation in retinal, strategies to manipulate 2D space by both geometric and positional isomerisation of alkenes via chemical, thermal and light‐driven processes are being intensively pursued. This minireview highlights the current state of the art in activating and achieving directionality in these fundamental chemical transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]