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Millifluidics for Chemical Synthesis and Time-resolved Mechanistic Studies
Published on: November 27, 2013
Strained small rings in gold-catalyzed rapid chemical transformations
Bei-Li Lu1, Lunzhi Dai, Min Shi
1State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Lu, Shanghai 200032, China.
Chemical Society Reviews
|December 23, 2011
Summary
This review summarizes gold-catalyzed reactions of strained small rings like cyclopropanes and epoxides. These reactions efficiently build complex organic molecules, offering new synthetic pathways.
Area of Science:
- Organic Chemistry
- Catalysis
- Synthetic Methodology
Background:
- Gold catalysis is a powerful tool in organic synthesis for creating complex molecular structures.
- Existing reviews on gold catalysis have largely overlooked reactions involving strained small-ring systems.
- Strained small rings (cyclopropyl, cyclopropenyl, epoxy, aziridinyl) offer unique reactivity but require specialized catalytic approaches.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive summary of recent advancements in gold-catalyzed transformations of strained small-ring-containing molecules.
- To highlight the utility of gold catalysis in activating and functionalizing these strained systems.
- To consolidate knowledge on the rapid construction of valuable building blocks from strained small rings using gold catalysts.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on peer-reviewed articles published in recent years.
- Categorization of reactions based on the type of strained small ring involved (cyclopropyl, cyclopropenyl, epoxy, aziridinyl).
- Analysis of reaction mechanisms and synthetic outcomes facilitated by gold catalysts.
Main Results:
- Demonstration of gold's efficacy in catalyzing diverse transformations of cyclopropyl-, cyclopropenyl-, epoxy-, and aziridinyl-containing substrates.
- Examples of rapid and efficient construction of complex molecular architectures from these strained precursors.
- Identification of key reaction types, including rearrangements, cycloadditions, and functionalizations.
Conclusions:
- Gold catalysis provides effective strategies for harnessing the reactivity of strained small rings.
- These gold-catalyzed reactions are crucial for accessing novel and complex organic molecules.
- The review serves as a valuable resource for researchers exploring gold catalysis with strained small rings in organic synthesis.
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