Metal complexes with selenium-based ligands in organic synthesis

Designing ligands is a crucial and significant element in homogeneous catalysis. Over the past two decades, a range of compounds with selenium substitutions have been employed as scaffolds for ligands in the development of transition metal catalytic systems. Air and moisture stability, good solubility in different solvents, stability toward oxidation and excellent electron-donating properties of selenium atom are some of the key features of organoselenium compounds that make them suitable candidates for application as ligands. The metal complexes of selenium ligands are widely acknowledged for their ability to catalyze diverse organic reactions, including but not limited to the Sonogashira coupling reaction, Heck coupling reaction, Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction, imidazole arylation, transfer hydrogenation reaction, oxidation of alcohols, and ortho-arylation of phenols. In certain instances, there has been notable observation of exceptionally high catalytic efficiency. Additionally, catalysis often enables a broad substrate range in numerous scenarios, as it is tolerant towards different functional groups. This review highlights the key synthetic methods employed in the design of recent instances of organoselenium compounds as ligands for synthesizing transition metal complexes. Additionally, it explores their utilization in various preparative organic transformations.
The bibliography includes 133 references.