Organolead(IV) Tricarboxylates, New Reagents for Organic Synthesis

Abstract

Aryl-, vinyl- and alk-1-ynyl-lead(IV) tricarboxylates act as electrophilic arylating, vinylating and alkynylating agents, respectively, with a variety of nucleophiles, especially soft carbon nucleophiles such as β- dicarbonyl compounds, phenols and nitroalkanes. In their reactions, they show a marked preference for carbon-carbon bond formation, especially in which a quaternary centre is produced. The formation and the synthetically useful reactions of these new reagents are reviewed.