Construction of metallacycles via zirconium-benzyne complexes and its application in organic synthesis

Abstract

Zirconium-benzyne complex is an important and highly reactive organometallic species. It can react with unsaturated substrates such as alkenes, alkynes, aldehydes, ketones, nitriles etc. to form metallacyles. A large variety of metallacycles can be constructed by modifying the substitution patterns of the substrates, chemical ratio of reactants, different Cp ligands or reaction conditions and so on. These metallacycles are highly useful for further transformations through the reactions with different electrophiles. This review summarizes the synthetic methods of zirconium-benzyne complexes, reactions of zirconium- benzyne complexes with various unsaturated molecules leading to metallacycles, and the applications of these metallacycles in organic chemistry. An outlook of zirconium-benzyne complexes in organic synthesis is also provided at the end of this review. © 2013 Chinese Chemical Society and SIOC, CAS.