Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Construction of Alkyl–Alkyl Bonds: Another Dimension in Cross-Coupling Chemistry

摘要

Because the backbone of most organic molecules is composed primarily of carbon–carbon bonds, the development of efficient methods for their construction is one of the central challenges of organic synthesis. Transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions between organic electrophiles and nucleophiles serve as particularly powerful tools for achieving carbon–carbon bond formation. Until recently, the vast majority of cross-coupling processes had employed either aryl or alkenyl electrophiles as one of the coupling partners. In the past 15 years, versatile new methods have been developed that effect cross-couplings of an array of alkyl electrophiles, thereby greatly expanding the diversity of target molecules that are readily accessible. The ability to couple alkyl electrophiles opens the door to a stereochemical dimension that significantly enhances the already remarkable utility of cross-coupling processes, specifically, enantioconvergent couplings of racemic electrophiles.