Current Organic Chemistry - Volume 10, Issue 9, 2006

This second issue of Current Organic Chemistry on the topic Organometallic Chemistry, Coordination Chemistry and Catalysis consists of eight reviews that I am sure will attract the interest of the readers. Robert Gossage (Acadia University, Canada) reviewed the applications of ZnBr2 in organic synthesis. The Lewis acid activity of this reagent is related with its structure in solution (where it is always complexed). An overvi Read More

An overview of the use of Zinc bromide (ZnBr2) in organic synthesis and other applications is presented. Some details on the structure of the inorganic material and its ligated adducts is also detailed. This aspect is presented in a context that attempts to relate the observed coordination chemistry with the activity of the title compound in Lewis acidmediated processes.

This article summarizes the synthesis of cyclopentadienes, indenes, cyclopentadienyl ligands and indenyl ligands which have a directly bonded aromatic or heteroaromatic substituent (HCpAr, HIndAr, Cp Ar, IndAr) a. Generally applicable procedures that allow the specific introduction of a variety of aromatic substituents are selected. Section 2.1 describes ring closure reactions of precursors with aromatic substituents whic Read More

Research interest in non-metallocene olefin polymerization catalysts has led to advances in the synthesis of well-defined paramagnetic organometallic complexes of first-row transition metals, including chromium. Single component polymerization catalysts have been prepared using cationic Cr(III) alkyl complexes with substituted cylopentadienyl or β-diketiminato ancillary ligands. High throughput screening strategies Read More

This account describes recent organic synthesis applications and developments in mechanistic understanding of low-valent titanium-mediated reductive coupling of carbonyl compounds. Pinacol and McMurry coupling reactions are among the most powerful methods for constructing carbon-carbon bonds, and have served as the key step in the synthesis of various natural and synthetic products. The range and selectiv Read More

The Diels-Alder reaction is one of the most useful and often studied transformations in organic chemistry. The reaction has been employed, often as the key step, in the total synthesis of a wide range of biologically-active natural products. The utility of the reaction is based upon its ability to form six-membered cyclic systems with up to four contiguous stereocenters as well as the reactions ability to incorporate heteroatoms i Read More

The synthesis of new carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds in a stereochemically well defined manner still presents a challenge in modern synthetic methodology. An important class of reactions, which can carry out the aforementioned transformations, are the [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements. These rearrangements have traditionally been carried out thermally at high temperatures. However, the discovery tha Read More

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) represents the method-of-choice for thin film growth, as well as nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes. Distinct advantages of this technique include low cost, and strict control over the resultant film stoichiometry, morphology, and thickness. The most critical component of a CVD process is the precursor that is employed. Hence, there has been a continuing interest in the development of new Read More

Metal ions and complexes that hydrolyze peptides and proteins have become increasingly important in recent years. These reagents have shown great promise for use in a variety of applications including protein sequencing and proteomics. When metal-assisted hydrolytic cleavage is accomplished under nondenaturing conditions of temperature and pH, their use can be extended to include the study of protein functio Read More