New formulas for zincate chemistry: Synergistic effect and synthetic applications of hetero-bimetal ate complexes

Abstract

Organozincates are the oldest class of organometallic ate compounds in the history of chemistry. Their special molecular structures lead to synergetic operations which contribute to unique chemical properties. Therefore, these compounds have attracted considerable attention from organometallic chemists nowadays and also have been widely employed as an efficient synthetic tool towards various functional molecules. As a representative example, lithium zincates present many advantages such as easy preparation, adjustable reactivity/selectivity as well as diversified applicability. This chapter provides an overview of the research advances on lithium zincate, including observation history, general characterization, preparative methods, synthetic utilities as well as further applications.