Recent advances in the chemistry of magnesium carbenoids

Abstract

This tutorial review deals with recent advances in the chemistry and synthetic use of magnesium carbenoids. The reactivity of traditional carbenoids (α-haloalkyllithium species) was successfully reduced by using magnesium as the metal instead of lithium. Properties of these relatively stable carbenoids, magnesium carbenoids, were widely investigated and it was found that the magnesium carbenoids have very interesting reactivity toward several nucleophiles. The magnesium carbenoids, magnesium cyclopropylidenes, magnesium alkylidene carbenoids, and magnesium β-oxido carbenoids are generated from α-chloroalkyl (or α-chloroalkenyl) aryl sulfoxides with a Grignard reagent at low temperature by sulfoxide–magnesium exchange reaction. The stability of the generated magnesium carbenoids and several new reactions based on the electrophilicity of the magnesium carbenoids, including 1,3-CH insertion, are reviewed. Magnesium carbenoids open up the new world of the chemistry of carbenoids.