Activation of small molecules by low-valent main group compounds is a hot topic,1 of which the bond cleavage by carbenoids, electronic analogues of carbene, is the most common.2 The NacNac-supported Al(I) and Ga(I) compounds NacNacM have been in the focus of several groups, including ours. In this talk we shall review the results of the past decade of research3 and highlight the increasing complication of reactivity, progressing from bond activation to multicomponent reactions and coupling.4
1. (a) Power, P. P. Nature 2010, 464, 171. (b) Weetman C.; Inoue, S. ChemCatChem 2018, 10, 4213.
2. Nikonov, G. I.; Chu, T. Chem. Rev. 2018, 118, 3608.
3. Nikonov, G. I. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 9195; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 13306; Inorg. Chem. 2017, 56, 5993; J. Am. Chem.Soc. 2017, 139, 8804;
4. Nikonov, G. I. et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2019, 58, 18102; Chem. Eur. J. 2020, 26, 206; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 16281; Chem. Eur. J. 2021, 27, 5730; Chem. Comm., 2022, 58, 6946.