Utilization of Nonbonded Interactions Involving Organoselenium Compounds

Nonbonded interactions involving selenium have been recognized for many years and are known to involve a number of groups and atoms that form close contacts to the chalcogen atom. With substantial improvements in high field NMR spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction, enabling such techniques to become ever more accessible, further understanding of the role that these interactions play in the chemistry of selenium has been gained in recent years. Given the well documented use of organoselenium compounds in organic chemistry and the recognition that certain enzymatic pathways utilize selenium within the active centre, the design of new systems that incorporate a group able to form nonbonded interactions of the type Se···Y forms an important field of research, with particular interest in how this affects the chemistry associated with the resultant selenium reagent. This article aims to bring together some of the more recent developments in the area of organoselenium chemistry, specifically where the role of nonbonded interactions have been implicated in affecting the outcome of the observed reactivity.